Today on my way back to the lab, I was hit by a cool idea:
There seems to be a strong link between the acceptance of a market system and the theory of evolution.
That is, in a capitalist society, an individual is allowed to hold private property and pursue wealth. It is clear that more the wealth, the more successful one is in successfully raising his children and, to a certain extent, help his relatives, all of who share his genes. More importantly it significantly increases the chances of the individual's own survival. Therefore, an individual will possess a strong instinct to accumulate wealth and to also retain it.
If the 'excess' wealth he possesses is taken away by the state who may give it to the needy, the individual's survival instinct might see this move threatening. Also, the person who may be awarded this 'excess' wealth may not be related at all to the individual.
However, a poor individual in the society might benefit from such a move in the sense that his own chances of survival and his children's are improved by the state grant. So the poor and the lazy may favor a more socialistic or communistic form of market ! Of course, this inclination that has been suggested is not deliberate but rather instinctive.
So if we conveniently (!) neglect the other aspects that influence human action, like education say, then the above arguments suggest that the form of the market arrangement would depend on (a) the ratio of the wealthy to the poor (b) the cost/ease of protecting one's wealth from being robbed, confiscated by society/ government, etc.
Can this hypothesis be tested by considering animal behavior or ancient civilizations of humans?
Nice argument and I can see the parallel too. good to see you start blogging. Welcome to the blogworld.
ReplyDeleteI think dogs come close to the emotional form of ownership similar to humans although it is not thought from a inter-generational perspective. I do not know of a similar parallel in ancient human history, mythical or actual.
ReplyDeleteOne parallel that does not exist in the past or in animals is that of industrial form of economy which gives the possibility of disproportionate incomes, which, I see as central to the problem mentioned and hence the source of solution as well.