On market forces and human evolution.
1Université de Toulouse I and CEPR, France. gstpaul@univ-tlse1.fr
Journal of Theoretical Biology
|May 1, 2007
Summary
Markets weaken natural selection by enabling specialization and trade. This allows individuals to compensate for weaknesses, altering human evolutionary trajectories and survival potentials.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Human evolution
- Social economics
Background:
- Natural selection traditionally favors individuals with advantageous traits for survival.
- In the absence of trade, individuals must perform all survival-critical activities themselves.
- Human fitness is historically linked to a broad range of survival-related skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of market institutions on human evolution.
- To analyze how trade influences the selective pressures of natural selection.
- To understand the evolutionary consequences of economic specialization.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling of evolutionary processes.
- Analysis of natural selection dynamics under different economic systems.
- Comparative study of fitness landscapes with and without markets.
Main Results:
- Market institutions reduce the strength of natural selection.
- Trade enables specialization, allowing individuals to leverage strengths and mitigate weaknesses.
- Long-run equilibria show that less-fit individuals can achieve comparable survival potential to the fittest.
Conclusions:
- Markets fundamentally alter the mechanisms of human evolution.
- Specialization and trade create new evolutionary pathways.
- The fitness landscape is reshaped by economic institutions, impacting allele frequency over time.
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