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Why you guys sit on your butt, the Darwinian fallacies go on and on. Human Nature Review 2003 Volume 3: 98-99 ( 28 January ) URL of this document http://human-nature.com/nibbs/03/dlsmith.html Book Review Darwinian Politics. The Evolutionary Origin of Freedom. By Paul H. Rubin New Brunswick, New Jersey, & London. Rutgers University Press. 2002. 240 pp. ISBN 0-8135-3096-2. Reviewed by David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., Director, New England Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology, University of New England, Westbrook College Campus, 716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, Maine 04103, USA. Paul Rubin, Professor of Economics and Law at Emory University, has written a detailed, informationally dense discussion of the evolutionary roots of political preferences. In my view, Rubin provides an excellent survey of a variety of issues relevant to understanding politics as an outgrowth of evolved propensities dating back to the EEA (Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness). It is a detailed and systematic work, with a strong leaning towards political economics. Stylistically, Rubin's writing is reminiscent of that of Richard Alexander: precise, scholarly and thoughtful with no fluff. Darwinian Politics repays close, careful reading. In fact, Darwinian Politics is so rich in content that it defies summary. Although I am an avid reader of the literature on human sociobiology and evolutionary psychology, this slender volume introduced me to literatures that I was not aware existed, and surprised me by approaching familiar concepts in novel and exciting ways. The first chapter introduces various elements of evolutionary thinking that are relevant to an analysis of political preferences and behavior, most of which will be familiar to readers of this review. There is a particularly good discussion of why evolution does not make us all identical, making use of the hawk-dove game, and the concept of frequency-dependent behavior. The first chapter also introduces a central strand of Rubin's argument: although modern economies involve positive-sum games (games in which the gains of all the players are greater than the losses), we evolved in circumstances where the economy was zero-sum (the gains and losses of all players add to zero, i.e., my gain is your loss). As a result, we tend to regard mutually beneficial trade (positive-sum) as a competitive enterprise (zero-sum) a disposition which, in the case of international trade, also receives contributions from our 'xenophobic modules' with unfortunate results, an approach used to good effect in a critique of Kevin MacDonald's account of anti-Semitism in Chapter Two. Full text http://human-nature.com/nibbs/03/dlsmith.html Other articles and reviews at http://human-nature.com/nibbs/contents.html Daily news at http://human-nature.com/nibbs/ Darwinian Politics: The Evolutionary Origin of Freedom (Rutgers Series on Human Evolution) by Paul H. Rubin Paperback: 256 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.63 x 9.38 x 5.88 Publisher: Rutgers University Press; ; (August 2002) ISBN: 0813530962 AMAZON - US http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813530962/darwinanddarwini AMAZON - UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813530962/humannaturecom From the Back Cover Darwinian Politics is the first book to examine political behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. Here, Paul H. Rubin discusses group or social behavior, including ethnic and racial conflict; altruism and cooperation; envy; political power; and the role of religion in politics ? issues that have formed the hallmark of human social behavior. Adopting a Darwinian perspective, Rubin demonstrates why certain political-moral philosophies succeed or fail in modern Western culture. He begins by showing relationships between biology and natural selection and the history of political philosophy and explains why desirable policies must treat each person as an individual. He considers the notion of group identity and conflict, observing a human propensity to form in-groups, a behavior that does not necessitate but often leads to deviancies such as racism. In discussing altruism, Rubin shows that people are willing to aid the poor if they are convinced that the recipients are not shirkers or free loaders. This explains why recent welfare reforms are widely viewed as successful. Envy, a trait that is often counterproductive in today's world, is also addressed. In comparing major moral philosophical systems, Rubin contends that utilitarianism is broadly consistent with our evolved preferences. He illustrates evolutionary premises for religious belief and for desires to regulate the behavior of others, and how in today's world such regulation may not serve any useful purpose. Ultimately, Rubin argues that humans naturally seek political freedom, and modern Western society provides more freedom than any previous one. In light of his analysis, the author extrapolates that, while there are still areas for improvements, humans have done a remarkably good job of satisfying their evolved political preferences. About the Author Paul H. Rubin is a professor of economics and law at Emory University. He is the author of Managing Business Transactions: Controlling the Costs of Coordinating, Communicating, and Decision Making, and Promises, Promises: Contracts in Russia and Other Post-Communist Economies. John Landon Website for World History and the Eonic Effect http://eonix.8m.com