Awfulness of poverty ensured global spread of class system

Evolutionary biologists at Stanford University have been pondering why most cultures have a class structure instead of being egalitarian. The answer they’ve arrived it is both ironic and shocking, as it appears that the very inequities of the class system were the driver for its global spread.

In the new Stanford study, appearing in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers used a computer simulation to compare demographic stability and rates of migration for both egalitarian and unequal societies.

They found that class structure provided unequal access to resources, thereby contributing a destabilizing effect on the population, and driving migration and the creation of new stratified societies. “This is the first study to demonstrate a specific mechanism by which stratified societies may have taken over most of the world,” said Stanford’s Marcus Feldman. Previous hypotheses for the development of socioeconomic inequality have included the need for hierarchical control over crop irrigation systems and the compounding of small differences in individual wealth over time through inheritance.

Feldman explained that when resources were consistently scarce, egalitarian societies – which shared the deprivation equally throughout the population – remained more stable than stratified societies. In stratified societies, the destabilizing effect of unequal sharing of scarce resources gave those societies more incentive to migrate in search of added resources.

In environments where the availability of resources fluctuated from year to year, stratified societies were better able to survive the temporary shortages because the bulk of the deprivation was absorbed by the lower classes, leaving the ruling class – and the overall social structure – intact. That stability enabled them to expand more readily than egalitarian societies, which weren’t able to adapt to changing conditions as quickly.

“The fact that unequal societies today vastly outnumber egalitarian societies may not be due to the replacement of the ethic of equality by a more selfish ethic, as originally thought by many researchers,” said co-researcher Deborah Rogers. “Instead, it appears that the stratified societies simply spread and took over, crowding out the egalitarian populations.”

Related:
Wealth Of Nations A Matter Of Climate
Scientists quantify critical-mass required for spread of ideas
Scans reveal brain’s in-built caste system
Social skills predict future earnings better than test scores

Source: Stanford University

, ,

Comments are closed.

Vintage Rare HTF Porsche 911 Poverty Sucks Poster LARGE 16X20 Mancave Garage Jet picture

Vintage Rare HTF Porsche 911 Poverty Sucks Poster LARGE 16X20 Mancave Garage Jet

$249.00



CANDID PORTRAIT YOUNG BOY IN DIRTY CLOTHES 1910 real photo postcard rppc poverty picture

CANDID PORTRAIT YOUNG BOY IN DIRTY CLOTHES 1910 real photo postcard rppc poverty

$7.04



2023 Wall Calendar Southern Poverty Law Center Vision for a Just Future picture

2023 Wall Calendar Southern Poverty Law Center Vision for a Just Future

$3.95



 (Lot of 4) Native American (Poverty Point) Cooking Balls   picture

(Lot of 4) Native American (Poverty Point) Cooking Balls

$25.00



Poverty Point Pottery Sherds picture

Poverty Point Pottery Sherds

$25.00



NEW ZEALAND. Ngatapa Paii, Poverty Bay, captured from the Maoris, print, 1869 picture

NEW ZEALAND. Ngatapa Paii, Poverty Bay, captured from the Maoris, print, 1869

$9.85



Gisborne, POVERTY BAY. New Zealand 1888 old antique vintage print picture picture

Gisborne, POVERTY BAY. New Zealand 1888 old antique vintage print picture

$9.85



LITTLE KID IN DIRTY CLOTHES real photo postcard rppc candid portrait poverty picture

LITTLE KID IN DIRTY CLOTHES real photo postcard rppc candid portrait poverty

$7.04



Woman Stabbing Man Family Jars No Money Poverty Angry Lady Photo Stereoview G93 picture

Woman Stabbing Man Family Jars No Money Poverty Angry Lady Photo Stereoview G93

$29.95



1937 POVERTY PARTY DANCE TICKET HAVERHILL NEW YEAR'S EVE ORCHESTRA LIGHT BLUE picture

1937 POVERTY PARTY DANCE TICKET HAVERHILL NEW YEAR'S EVE ORCHESTRA LIGHT BLUE

$14.95



Powered by WordPress. Designed by WooThemes