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Application of ‘Game Theory’ in Feminism

The game theory of John Nash, the Nobel laureate economist in the film 'Beautiful Mind', can also be applied to the problem of women's empowerment in various behavioral issues. 

Game theory in Feminism
Photo by Matteo Raw on Unsplash

Game Theory; A kind of strategy game where the decisions of more than one person affect the profit and loss of others in addition to themselves.

Suppose; Husband and wife have decided to do something for entertainment while not at home on weekends. The problem is the husband wants to go see a play. 

But, the wife's desire is to go out for hobby shopping. However, instead of shopping alone, the wife must go to see the drama with the husband, because sitting at home alone or in pairs is not in their consideration. 

Again, the husband would prefer to go shopping together rather than go to see the drama alone. So? (This is a logical table of family decisions, other considerations will not be relevant here, such as the question of arithmetic or logic, just to find the answer.)

In this example of game theory, according to John Nash's formula, there seems to be no mathematical solution for the two to make their own decisions, as there are in many other cases. 

However, it can be assumed that the outcome here will depend on the type of relationship between the husband and wife and the mutual assessment of the mood of the couple.

If the husband is stubborn and the wife is accustomed to accepting it, then she will go to see the drama with her husband. However, the husband can say that he is not imposing any decision because he is aware of women's rights because he is not forbidding his wife to go shopping.

This is where the subtle issue of women's empowerment comes into play in family decisions. Inequality in family power cannot be understood in isolation. It is a matter of long-standing behavior. 

On the contrary, if the husband learns to give priority to the wife's wishes in the field or if the wife already has an understanding with the husband about some decision-making authority (a sign of women's empowerment), then they may go shopping together.

Author: Wahiduddin Mahmud

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