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Fatal asymmetries

The conflicting relationship between political institutions and natural selection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 January 2021

Luis Sánchez Open the ORCID record for Luis Sánchez [Opens in a new window]
Luis Sánchez*
Affiliation:
University of Queensland
*
Correspondence: Luiz Sanchez, University of Queensland–Saint Lucia Campus, School of Law, Forgan Smith Building, Saint Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia. Email: luismsf@hotmail.com
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Abstract

In Descent of Man, Charles Darwin noted the impact of political institutions on natural selection. He thought that institutions such as asylums or hospitals may deter natural selection; however, he did not reach a decisive answer. Questions remain as to whether the selective impacts of political institutions, which in Darwin’s terms may be referred to as “artificial selection,” are compatible with natural selection, and if so, to what extent. This essay argues that currently there appears to be an essential mismatch between nature and political institutions. Unfitted institutions put exogenous and disproportionate pressures on living beings. This creates consequences for what is postulated as the condition of basic equivalence, which allows species and individuals to enjoy similar chances of survival under natural circumstances. Thus, contrary to Darwin’s expectations, it is sustained that assumed natural selection is not discouraged but becomes exacerbated by political institutions. In such conditions, selection becomes primarily artificial and perhaps mainly political, with consequences for species’ evolutionary future.

Keywords

Natural selectionartificial selectionpolitical institutionsbasic equivalenceself-sufficiencyself-restraintecological constitution
Type
Perspective Essays
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , Spring 2022 , pp. 90 - 104
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences

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