Perhaps I can put this whole topic to rest somewhat.
Background
Game itself reflects nothing of God’s ideals; it simply organizes what can be consciously understood of fallen human nature in terms of human sexual response. It works so well in human sexual relations because it draws on more fundamental facts of human social behavior at large. The hierarchy list used here is just one of several possible lists. This is true of any model of human behavior, a topic so complex and variable, no single model can hope to cover all the bases. The wide array of schools of thought regarding human nature is itself a reflection of this basic truth. Some are more effective than others, and for different uses, but all models which remain in circulation will bear some element of that broader fundamental truth.
That we discuss a Fall itself should indicate something too easy to forget: This is not ideal, not at all what God had in mind. Some part of our human consciousness knows this, or we would never bother with studying human nature. The trouble is, the Fall itself darkens our perceptions of human nature, even our very self-analysis. That some have found an effective way of addressing the unfortunate consequences of the Fall should not lead us to believe their answer is necessarily redemptive. An awful lot of religion is merely navigating fallen nature itself in some vain hope of changing it. Most religion, particularly in the West, is just another human system, but with a pretense of some deity’s approval. The brutal fact of the Fall is we are bound under something which is not ideal, and the nature of this bondage is immutable from our position inside it. Until we see a need to get outside of this regime, we make no approach to the ideal we all instinctively know is out there.
Simply understanding the Game Theory Model is not redemptive in itself. It is by no means an attempt to escape, but to game the system as it exists. It does, most assuredly, offer personal advantages, but by its nature “advantage” means something not shared with the rest of the world. The whole objective of game is to maintain an imbalance, of keeping the majority below what little good is possible. It does not aim to raise the masses above the degrading sorrow of our human lot, but aims to steal from their fair share of what’s available, for whatever justification, and consume it upon oneself.
This competition is the very nature of human society in the broader sense. A prophetic critique of Game Theory is best offered by linking socio-sexual behavior more tightly with human behavior as whole. Prophecy is a function of demanding justice on God’s terms, and while a specific correction of game theory in the socio-sexual realm is possible, redemption is incomplete without showing how it fits in the broader context of human need, and then fixing that bigger problem.
