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Key points
- Genetically based proclivities in Homo sapiens were formed in foraging societies over hundreds of thousands of years.
- The rise of large societies put some of these proclivities at odds, and they cause us trouble today.
- When essential elements of our nature have been set against each other, tension and conflict are inevitable.
Over the past four years, we have posted many blogs focused on some of the problems that occur when emotions, assumptions, and attitudes that evolved over hundreds of thousands of years encounter the new environments that developed after the agricultural revolution.
The frequency and severity of these problems are, in part, due to the fact that we are often torn between two ancient, genetically based proclivities that were once perfectly compatible but are at odds today. Here are a couple of examples.
Fear of Strangers vs. the Need for Community
In an earlier blog, we wrote about how the fear of strangers once helped keep the members of a foraging band together and reinforced their identity as “the people.” At the same time, ties of kinship, food sharing, the need for cooperation, and reciprocity produced trust within the community and a profound desire for social connection. It was good to be wary of strangers, and it was good to be a member of a close community.
Today most people live in large societies full of people who are officially affiliated with one another but are not only strangers but often also very different from one another. Most large societies are diverse and divided; nevertheless, the people in them want to feel a connection with one another. That desire is in our genes.
However, much as we crave that warm feeling of social connection and shared identity, we are also wary of strangers. This conflict between two aspects of our nature creates big problems for us. We evolved to live in bands of relatives, where xenophobia and the need for social connection were compatible. But the development of large societies has put them at odds. When a kid goes to a new school, when someone begins a new job in a new organization, or when a family moves from one place to another, there’s always tension. Sometimes the newbies find a welcoming community; sometimes, they don’t.
Another problem is that the diversity of most large societies tends to spawn enclaves of people who have something in common. Most people feel more comfortable with those who are similar to them and tend to avoid those who are different. Immigrants often live in areas of cities where they can speak their own language and eat familiar food without fear. The wealthy tend to live in communities of the wealthy.
These choices are understandable. Strangers who are very different from us can be scary. But that fear leads to xenophobia, and xenophobia can get really nasty. Some people in the dominant society resort to violence against those who are different and against the changes that diversity brings.
We, humans, want to fit in, to be part of a community we can trust, and simultaneously, we’re always on guard with strangers. Many prophets, humanists, and philosophers have tried over the years to resolve this conflict with appeals to our shared humanity (e.g., the “Good Samaritan” story). But the tension between these two aspects of our nature is always there.
Looking Out for Number One vs. Contributing to Community
There is currently a disastrous level of tension between individual rights and social responsibilities in the world. This wasn’t always the case. In ancestral bands, what was good for the group was generally good for the individual. Food was shared, so everybody ate. Status was as important to individuals in the bands of our ancestors as it is today, but individuals were accorded the most status for doing things that benefited the group—healing, tool making, singing, storytelling, and, of course, hunting and gathering.
The ancient imperative to look out for number one and the human social imperative to contribute to the welfare of the community are often in conflict in the modern world. It’s not an accident that the U.S. Constitution includes a Bill of Rights but not a Bill of Duties and Responsibilities. Individual freedom was the goal, and the United States has been very successful at fostering it. However, the focus on individual freedom, often at the expense of community good, has created deep divisions in U.S. society.
During the Covid pandemic, many people refused to wear masks or get vaccinated, claiming that it was their right to do so, even as thousands were dying. Corporate CEOs shut down factories in U.S. cities and towns and move to places where labor is cheaper, throwing many out of work and often decimating communities. A college basketball coach gets an offer from a high-status university, uproots his family, and leaves his former team and his institution in the lurch.
When essential elements of our nature have been set against each other, tension and conflict are inevitable. It would feel good to always be with people who are like us and whom we trust, but modern societies aren’t like that. And it would feel good to know that we can trust the individuals we live and work with to factor the common good into their decisions. But all too often, they don’t.
