Title of article :
The ultrasocial origin of the Anthropocene
Author/Authors :
Gowdy، نويسنده , , John and Krall، نويسنده , , Lisi، نويسنده ,
Pages :
11
From page :
137
To page :
147
Abstract :
The current geological epoch has been dubbed the Anthropocene—the age of humans. We argue that the roots of the Anthropocene lie in the agricultural revolution that began some 8000 years ago. Unique human psychological and cultural characteristics were present in our distant hunter–gatherer past, but in terms of the biophysical impact of our species, agricultural represented an unequivocal and decisive evolutionary break. With the transition to agriculture human society began to function as a superorganism functioning as a single unit designed by social natural selection to produce economic surplus. Where environmental conditions were permitted, early human agricultural societies followed the same pattern as a few social insects and exhibited explosive population growth, complex and detailed division of labor, intensive resource exploitation, territorial expansion, and a social organization favoring the survival and growth of the supergroup over the well-being of individuals within the group. Similar economic forces lie behind ultrasociality in social insects and humans—increased productivity from the division of labor, increasing returns to scale, and the exploitation of stocks of productive resources. Exploring the evolutionary mechanisms behind ultrasociality offers insights into the growth imperative that threatens the stability of the earthʹs life support systems.
Keywords :
sociobiology , Stocks and flows , Sustainability policy , Ultrasociality , Anthropocene , Downward causation , Evolution , Group selection , Inclusive fitness , Increasing returns to scale , Inequality , Multi-level selection
Journal title :
Astroparticle Physics
Record number :
1942290
Link To Document :
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