[ExI] Really? and EP

[Keith Henson]

On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 2:11 AM, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 4/18/09, Keith Henson wrote:
> <snip>
>> Of course people always moved to unoccupied land if they could.  But
>>  they filled up the world a *long* time ago.  Moving into another
>>  tribe's territory would start a war if the people there were also up
>>  against the wall.
>>
>
> We are discussing present day problems not hunter gatherer tribes.

You cannot understand the evolved psychological mechanisms humans have
without taking into account the environment of evolutionary
adaptedness.  For example, the common traits for capture-bonding
(Patty Hearst, Elizabeth Smart) makes no sense without taking into
account past evolutionary selection pressures.

> Emigration today means the young men (usually) spreading out among the
> 20 nearby countries and working for minimum wages. Much to the delight
> of the receiving countries. This reduces the population in the 'hard
> times' country and the young emigrants send money back home to help
> their families.
> It's a win - win situation.

In some cases and at some times, yes.  World wide or over longer time
scales it is an unmitigated disaster, if for no other reason, the
population sink fills up.  Consider the slide of Mexico into Somali
like conditions.

>>  > To say that EP proves that hard times = war is far too simplistic.
>>
>>
>> I wish you would quit putting words in my mouth.
>>
>
> Great! we agree then. Hard times does not = war necessarily.

Sure.  If a disaster comes on fast enough there isn't time for
xenophobic memes to build up.  As an example, the Irish famine of
1845..  Also, perception of "hard times" is very much relative.  When
people who have been living at a fairly high level (the former
American middle class) take a serious economic hit with poor future
prospects for their children, this theory predicts they will become
more susceptible to xenophobic memes (often religious) and more
supportive of external wars and internal pogroms--for example against
homosexuals.

Question for you.  Was what hppened in Rwanda a war?

Keith