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Published on: September 28, 2018
A lobbying theory of cultural evolution: Rhetoric, expediency, and self-interest promote inequality in the
Duncan Noel Edward Stibbard-Hawkes1
1Department of Anthropology, Baylor University, Waco, USA D_StibbardHawkes@Baylor.edu.
Abstract:
Anthropologists have noted, time and again, that cultural norms and institutions often (1) are "functional," providing context-relevant benefits, (2) convergently evolve, and (3) benefit certain individuals over others. In this commentary, I consider inequality, self-interest, and coercion in complex cultural institutions. I extend Chater and Christiansen's theory of social tinkering, taking cues from Mercier and Sperber's argumentative theory of human reason and Singh et al.'s self-interested enforcement hypothesis, to argue that humans are well-adapted "cultural lobbyists."
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