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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Maybe the meek will truly inherit the earth?Are you saying that the groups that reproduce the fastest have the lowest rates of assault? I think that might be the case for Mormons, Hassidics and Mennonites, but not lots of other groups.

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Overcoming Bias Commenter's avatar

Doug, that's interesting. One of the (secret) fears of the wealthy minority, is of the fertility of the poor, especially people of color. I chuckle in discussions, where after a couple of drinks, folks are honest enough to speak of being "overrun."

I live in a neighborhood where the fertility rate among immigrant groups of color is very high. Birth control and all that aside, you need to take into account cultural dynamics, and/or religion, which can stifle behavioral evolution. For many people of color, lots of kids is still seen as evidence of a man's virility (hawkishness, Stuart?). And no, poor women secretly don't want to have all these kids, that wear you and your reproductive system out. But what else do you have to show for your life, and how do you keep your man? Children are seen as a necessary blessing. This may seem simplistic to you all, but it is a reality for a vast majority of us.

It should not be puzzling that having more material resources, means less kids. We're not just economics, or genetics. For wealthier couples, less kids mean more discretionary income for themselves, and for the few kids they do have; consumerism, enjoyment, and quality of life, are the key words here. I have to explain this concept to my neighbors, who view this as selfish. As I have no kids of my own (partially due to economic factors), I am viewed as the epitome of selfishness. My behavioral evolution is viewed through lenses, varying from sympathy to hostility. I also have to explain to them that our history, economic and political policies have never favored large families, from the Irish Catholics to the present Mexicans, residing around me.

There is a huge cultural and ideological gap in many of the theories I read and discuss; it's a shame too, as the people who many academics render invisible, are some of the fastest reproducing folks on the planet. Maybe the meek will truly inherit the earth?

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