Michael Taylor (political theorist)

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Michael Taylor (born 1942), is a political theorist and political economist, who currently teaches at the University of Washington.

He is the author of Community, Anarchy and Liberty (Cambridge, 1982), The Possibility of Cooperation (Cambridge, 1987), and Rationality and Revolution, (co-author and editor, Cambridge, 1988).

His research interests include rational choice theory, moral motivation and game theory.

Although game theory was applied in social sciences before Taylor's work, he was the first to explicitly link rationality with collective action. He sets out a theory for a rationally motivated revolution and rational cooperation. His theory specifically states that cooperation can be achieved without the intervention of the state. Rational individuals will cooperate as it will maximise their long term utility. Taylor shows this through game theory and especially the Prisoner's Dilemma supergame.

University of Washington Political Science Department faculty web page