When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows . . .: Common Knowledge and the Mysteries of Money, Power

They argued that nothing short of a world government with the power to rewrite the payoffs by punishing aggressors, with nuclear weapons if necessary, could save the species from annihilation. Happily, this concession provides an opportunity to introduce the power of common knowledge in human affairs, starting with language itself. The reverse scenario, with a single liar in a society of truth-tellers, is played out in the Ricky Gervais movie The Invention of Lying (2009). The territorial integrity norm: International boundaries and the use of force.