How you balance your own self-interest with the interests of others? And what role do transaction costs play? A discussion of our "interest" in the welfare of others,  and the complexity that adds to economic indifference curves. Things take an interesting turn, going toward how transaction costs can shape our institutions and preferences, ranging from  a marine fishery to a bowl of M&M's. And TWEJ. Always, TWEJ.Some Resources:Gary Lynne, on Dual Interest Theory:   https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/02601079231172366?journalCode=jieaNeo(Classical) and Rama-Kandra, on caring about others:  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242653/characters/nm0924502On Coase, Olson, and the Problem of Encompassing Institutions:Justice Department Merger Guidelines:  https://www.justice.gov/archives/atr/merger-guidelines-and-integration-efficiencies-antitrust-review-horizontal-mergers: https://www.justice.gov/archives/atr/merger-guidelines-and-integration-efficiencies-antitrust-review-horizontal-mergersRonald Coase, 1937, "The Theory of the Firm." https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-0335.1937.tb00002.xRichard Jankowski on Encompassing Organizations:  (1989). Preference Aggregation in Firms and Corporatist Organizations: The Enterprise Group as a Cellular Encompassing Organization. American Journal of Political Science, 33(4), 973–996. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2111117Robert Keohane, "International Institutions": https://www.jstor.org/stable/2600589Mancur Olson, the Rise and Decline of Nations. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1nprddThe "Coase Theorem" and the "$100 Bill on the Sidewalk" Joke: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3405632On Brown M&Ms:The DLR interview (excerpts): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IxqdAgNJckNPR on Brown M&Ms:  https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2012/02/14/146880432/the-truth-about-van-halen-and-those-brown-m-msBackground, including a copy of the relevant part of the contract:  https://www.insider.com/van-halen-brown-m-ms-contract-2016-9If you have questions or comments, or want to suggest a future topic, email the show at taitc.email@gmail.com ! You can follow Mike Munger on Twitter at @mungowitz