The Point of Politics
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11308545 |
|---|---|
| Authors | L Betzig (0000-0001-5938-4190, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1994 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 20-37 |
| Publication date | 1994-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Analyse & Kritik (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0171-5860 • E-ISSN: 2365-9858 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1515/auk-1994-0102 |
| OpenAlex | W2405961963 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 17 |
Why do men and women compete? And what makes them compete more or less? An answer to the first question follows directly from Darwin. If Homo sapiens, like other species, is a product of natural selection, then we should have evolved to compete in order to reproduce. An answer to the second question follows from more recent versions of Darwinism. People, like other organisms, are likely to compete socially - to form dominance hierarchies - to the extent that it is costly for subordinates to flee ecologically. This paper first reviews evidence that winners at political competition have consistently won at reproductive competition. Next, it documents the slow shift toward declining political competition - toward democracy, and toward declining reproductive competition - toward monogamy, in the course of Western history. Last, it offers a model of what might account for that change
Biology · Competition (biology · Darwinism · Democracy · Dominance (genetics · Economics · Evolutionary biology · Homo sapiens · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · Positive economics · Product (mathematics · Sociology · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Law · Ecology
Intra-sexual selection in Drosophila
Parent-Offspring Conflict
The origins of English individualism
The family, sex and marriage in England, 1500-1800
Family Life among the Staff of the Volusii
Life Histories, Blood Revenge, and Warfare in a Tribal Population
Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe
European Marriage Patterns in Perspective
Bastardy and its comparative history
Correlates of reproductive success in a Caribbean village
The Augustan Laws on Family Relations
Early Medieval Peasant Households in Central Italy
Criteria of facial attractiveness in five populations
Crime and Custom in Savage Society
Co-Evolution
Wealth, Status, and Reproductive Success among the Mukogodo of Kenya
On Cultural and Reproductive Success
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1995 - 1997 (3) |
| Highly cited | No |