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Monday, 01 August 2005 |
A new book on
economics from Paul Seabright at the University of
Toulouse discusses the evolution of human trust and argues that
"our everyday life is much stranger than we imagine, and rests
on fragile foundations"
It was only 10,000 years ago that
"one of the most aggressive and elusive bandit species in the
entire animal kingdom" settled down to grow food. In no more
than the blink of an eye, in evolutionary time, these "shy,
murderous apes" developed cooperative networks of staggering
scope and complexity, networks that relied on trust between
strangers.
He explores cooperation between humans and other
species, and its role in the modern global economy. But he
warns that cooperation is a two-edged sword: "it also makes
possible the most successful acts of aggression between one group
and another."
The book is The Company of
Strangers (Princeton University Press) |
