Guest Post by K. D. Koratsky – Originally published at Living With Evolution. Due to its academic nature, this version has been edited, revised and serialized with permission from the author.
The way individuals or civilizations compete for survival differs due to the circumstances.
Taking the tough times first, it isn’t difficult to see that when resources are short and aggression is intense, only those with the very best economic and combat skills, on average, will avoid extinction within any given niche.
In short, there will be strong selection pressure against all characteristics that lack a high degree of functionality and/or adaptivity.
America: The Coming Collapse? You Decide!
This pattern is illustrated by human history and within the fossil record at large.
In contrast, we also find that good times produce the opposite effect.
That is, instead of there being strong selection pressure for only the most functional and adaptive of characteristics to survive when resources are plentiful and are increasing rapidly, those who are not skilled economically (work or business) or in combat may well be able to still make a living.
Hence, it is in good times that we can expect to see an increase of nonfunctional and even dysfunctional mutations in humanity that would typically be trimmed away with normal rates of evolutionary attrition.
Return to Escaping the Trap – Part 1 or go to Escaping the Trap – Part 3
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K. D. Koratsky is the author of Living With Evolution or Dying Without it: A Guide to Understanding Humanity’s Past, Present and Future. Koratsky also writes a Blog on this subject at Living With Evolution.
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