Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge

Why do Internet, financial service, and beer commercials dominate Super Bowl advertising? How do political ceremonies establish authority? Why does repetition characterize anthems and ritual speech? Why were circular forms favored for public festivals during the French Revolution? This book answers these questions using a single concept: common knowledge. Game theory shows that in order to coordinate its actions, a group must have 'common knowledge' — everyone must know that everyone knows, and everyone must know that everyone knows that everyone knows, ad infinitum. Applying this insight, Michael Suk-Young Chwe argues that ceremonies, advertisements, and public spectacles are designed to create common knowledge, enabling social coordination. Drawing from sources as diverse as Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, Adam Smith, and the Super Bowl, this book offers a groundbreaking analysis of how culture and rational choice intertwine.