Also known as the “Cooperative Filter,” it states that for any species to become advanced enough to be a space-faring civilization, it must “play nice” — that is, develop mechanisms of long-term cooperation and trust.
Technological and societal complexity require increasingly complex but stable institutions, which only function when there are diminished incentives and opportunities for cheating, dishonesty, violence, and arbitrary rule.
It builds on the observed finding that inclusive institutions — those that enforce property rights, reward innovation, and allow broad participation — tend to be foundational towards sustained development. Extractive institutions, on the other hand, remain unstable or collapse under their own contradictions or stifle progress.
Longer-term planning and investment (like science, education, intergenerational infrastructure) require predictability — the belief that hard work will pay off, that one’s life and property are secure, and that contributions are fairly recognized and protected. These conditions build the “future orientation” critical for large-scale scientific advancement.
Civilizations that fail to resolve internal conflict, reduce corruption, and guarantee rule of law cannot advance toward spaceflight — not because they lack intelligence or resources, but because distrust, short-termism, and internal instability drain the capacity for sustained, collective action.
Thus, the “Cooperative Filter” functions as a civilizational sieve, filtering out any species that fails to achieve robust social cohesion, fair institutions, and non-zero-sum thinking at a planetary scale. Just as biological evolution filters out unstable traits, so does civilizational evolution filter out anti-cooperative tendencies.
This entry was made by Artnoob100.