Fairness

One of the major causes of conflict is that two people think things are not fair. By fair, we can also include the ideas of just, equal, good, ethical or moral, and the mechanisms of how we achieve this state. I am reminded of the following problem. You have two children, and a delicious ice cream cake sits before them. The task is, how to divide it, so that there isn't a fight over who gets the larger half.
A most remarkable solution comes from Game Theory. The optimum strategy: let one child cut the cake, while the other chooses which piece to take! Thus, in order not to get cheated, the cutter is motivated to divide the cake into two halves that are as nearly equal as possible. Greed insures fair division. Each child anticipates what the other will do, (the cutter anticipates the chooser will take the larger piece) and this is what makes it such an interesting game. The children do not have to even think about generosity or what is fair, just self-interest, and the outcome is fair! And if the children cannot decide who is going to cut, well then, it will just melt away!