On What Rules Do Small-Minded People Cooperate?

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

This rule is incredibly simple: you mess with me, I mess with you; you escalate, I escalate; you take a step back, I do too.
I don’t care whether you see me as a gentleman or a scoundrel. What matters is conveying my rules of the game.
This process is much like diplomacy between great powers: you escalate, I escalate; you impose tariffs, I restrict rare earth exports. It’s a tit-for-tat exchange of moves, each side playing card against card.
But the purpose of this push-and-pull isn’t conflict for its own sake—it’s to let you predict exactly how far I’ll escalate in response to your actions.
When you know that using nuclear weapons will trigger my full retaliation, you’ll think twice.

Only those who understand business are true talents. Clear signals matter: let them know that cooperation brings gains, while hostility brings losses.