The Nash theory of equilibrium was brought into public spotlight when the life of the progenitor was made the subject of a film, Beautiful Mind .
The premise of the theory, which won Nash the Nobel prize for economics in 1994, according to Bart Kosko, professor of electrical engineering at USC, shows "how selfish competitors should act in relation to those whom they compete against".
Kosko said the theory could be illustrated using Swiss political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseaus 1755 Discourse on Inequality that has led to something called the deer game.
Imagine four starving people in a jungle with two options. Each can try to catch a rabbit or a deer. The deer however can only be caught if, and only if, all four work together to catch one.
If, however, three people decide to catch rabbits, then the fourth starving person will have no choice but to catch a rabbit as well. This rabbit hunt is an example of the Nash equilibrium because each person does what is best for himself and because no one has an incentive to switch hunting strategies.
On the flip side, if three people decide to catch a deer, the fourth starving person would also be motivated to catch a deer instead of a puny rabbit. The deer hunt is also a Nash equilibrium because each person will do the best he can and it would be quite illogical for anyone to change their hunting strategy.
Noble intentions
The question now: is should selfish consumers behave in the same manner?
In the Telekom users case, the answer would be if, and only if, the deer is a deer and not in actual fact a rabbit, or worse.
When Telekom announced its increase in tariffs, the Malaysian people were told to evaluate the exercise in its entirety. That the big picture would reveal gains worth paying for.
To improve the efficiency of the telecommunications industry, we were told.
To transform Malaysia into a competitive communications hub and a preferred destination for investments in the region, they resounded.
To help bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural areas, they declared.
But the deer dangled in the form of deceptively noble intentions would be akin to the emperors new clothes.
To believe it, one would have to possess a stoic and unwavering affection for the telco provider.
Once again, the consumer will have to bear the costs of something which is already rightfully his as it appears that the RM1.75 billion profit made by Telekom in the last financial year is insufficient to at least raise the standards of Telekoms services a notch.
Discard suspicion
Once again, we must believe that investment flow will increase from a reduction of call tariffs to Australia. The 10-minute call to Australia during off-peak hours will cost RM18 in March 2002, compared with RM22 now.
That the average businessman will definitely look at the above figures and immediately cry, "Eureka! Malaysia is now the place to host my Asia-Pac regional office because they have reduced their calls to Australia by 40 sen a minute!"
And he will also add, "I am definitely implementing working hours of 7pm to 7am to take advantage of these rates which only apply during off-peak hours!"
To think that such a scenario would be even the faintest bit possible cannot but invite scoffs of ridicule from all circles.
So we are pushed into a corner again. Behind the veil of Big Brother will always benefit those beneath, mandarins of the government cannot but nod their heads in submissive compliance and discard all logical suspicion arising out of the reasons given.
Limited players
But the story does not end there.
Since the tariff hike, many have expressed the intention of switching over to mobile phones instead of relying on fixed lines.
Stretching the illustration even further, the starving four could therefore choose to settle for the rabbit meat. It may not be the best, but it beats roots and grasshoppers.
But if the deer-suppliers and rabbit-suppliers were acquired and merged, we might just have to take entomology to new heights. Considering the circumstances, that option may not be as preposterous as it sounds.
On Jan 29, the prime minister had announced that Telekom would be keen to take over rival Technology Resources Industries Bhd (TRI) which is the parent company of Celcom.
Besides this proposed merger between Telekom and TRI, the market has been rife with rumours that Maxis may be taking over Time dotCom. Should that materialise, the number of players in the digital mobile industry would be reduced to three.
Anyone for bug larvae?
MICHELLE LEE is a malaysiakini journalist.