Curt Doolittle

RECIPROCITY — why it works, how to run it, what it produces Reciprocity = the te

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Curt Doolittle

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RECIPROCITY — why it works, how to run it, what it produces

Reciprocity = the test of symmetry in costs, benefits, and risks across parties, in relation to their demonstrated interests, with compensation/warranty where symmetry cannot be achieved.
Put simply: “Do you impose on others what you would not accept yourself, without compensation?”
A claim passes reciprocity when:
  1. Parties and their demonstrated interests are enumerated.
  2. Transfers of benefits/costs/risks are mapped (who gains, who pays, who is exposed).
  3. Symmetry tests are run (would each accept the same treatment under reversal of roles?).
  4. Externalities are exposed and compensated (insurance, restitution, bonding).
  5. Information asymmetries are disclosed or warranted (no hidden rent-seeking).
If these conditions hold, cooperation is mutually admissible.
  • All cooperation is exchange under uncertainty.
  • Predation and parasitism arise when one party externalizes costs, conceals risks, or exploits asymmetry.
  • By forcing symmetry disclosure and compensation, reciprocity collapses the space of irreciprocal strategies, leaving only cooperative equilibria (or boycott if compensation is refused).
  • This converts “ought” into a computable test: if symmetry cannot be established, the claim/action is inadmissible.
  • Represent parties and interests as nodes in a graph.
  • Represent transfers as directed edges with annotations (benefit, cost, risk).
  • Run symmetry checks: if we invert the graph (swap roles), do transfers remain acceptable?
  • Detect externalities (unlabeled costs landing on commons) and propose compensation terms.
  • Flag informational asymmetries (one side holds hidden knowledge).
This is graph-constraint checking + counterfactual swapping — something language models can execute symbolically, with structured prompting.
  • Hidden externalities (future harms, commons degradation) → require prospective disclosure (“list foreseeable externalities”), then bind with warranties/insurance.
  • Moral hazard (actor insulated from risk) → require bonding/escrow.
  • Asymmetric information (seller knows quality, buyer doesn’t) → require disclosure or guarantee.
Decision rule:
  • If symmetry fails and no compensation is possible → Inadmissible: Irreciprocal.
  • If symmetry holds or is cured by compensation → Admissible (proceed to Decidability).
  • If parties/interests are incomplete → Undecidable: Missing Mapping.
Claim: “Impose congestion pricing on downtown drivers.”
  • Parties: City, Drivers, Residents, Businesses.
  • Demonstrated interests:
    City: reduced traffic, cleaner air.
    Drivers: time savings, mobility.
    Residents: health, quiet.
    Businesses: customer access.
  • Transfers:
    Cost: fee from Drivers → City.
    Benefit: reduced traffic → Residents & Businesses.
    Risk: economic displacement → Businesses.
  • Symmetry test: If Residents had to pay drivers for clean air instead of the reverse, would that be acceptable? Yes, in principle.
  • Externalities: Risk of small business harm; addressed by fee exemptions or subsidies.
  • Compensation plan: Revenue earmarked to improve public transit (compensation to drivers) and support affected businesses.
  • Verdict: Admissible with compensation. Without compensation, irreciprocal (drivers subsidize residents unfairly).
  • Truth made the claim testifiable (what congestion pricing is, what it entails).
  • Reciprocity maps interests and audits symmetry.
  • Once irreciprocity is exposed and cured, we now have a feasible set of cooperative actions.
  • That feasible set is the input to Decidability: we can resolve the case without discretion, because the asymmetries have been normalized.
RECIPROCITY_CERT
– Parties: …
– Interests: …
– Transfers: table
– Symmetry audit: pass/fail, externalities, info asymmetries
– Compensation plan: list remedies
– Verdict: Admissible / Inadmissible / Undecidable

Source date (UTC): 2025-08-24 03:21:33 UTC

Original post: https://x.com/i/articles/1959456016028033290

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