The inequity of inequality: egalitarian instincts and evolutionary psychology

Trajectories toward maximum power and inequality in resource distribution networks

Resource distribution networks are the infrastructure facilitating the flow of resources in both biotic and abiotic systems. Both theoretical and empirical arguments have proposed that physical systems self-organise to maximise power production, but how this trajectory is related to network development, especially regarding the heterogeneity of resource distribution in explicitly spatial networks, is less understood. Quantifying the heterogeneity of resource distribution is necessary for understanding how phenomena such as economic inequality or energetic niches emerge across socio-ecological and environmental systems. Although qualitative discussions have been put forward on this topic, to date there has not been a quantitative analysis of the relationship between network development, maximum power, and inequality. This paper introduces a theoretical framework and applies it to simulate the power consumption and inequality in generalised, spatially explicit resource distribution networks. The networks illustrate how increasing resource flows amplify inequality in power consumption at network end points, due to the spatial heterogeneity of the distribution architecture. As increasing resource flows and the development of hierarchical branching can both be strategies for increasing power consumption, this raises important questions about the different outcomes of heterogeneous distribution in natural versus human-engineered networks, and how to prioritise equity of distribution in the latter.

Global aging, well-ordered science, and prospection

Aristotle described the study of politics as an "architectonic" science that aspires to bring together insights from different fields of scientific inquiry to ensure that citizens have the opportunities to flourish. To meet the health and economic challenges of aging populations, we must revive this Aristotelian vision of politics. Prioritizing biogerontology is a requirement of well-ordered science. But a number of cognitive limitations and biases impair our ability to perceive both the harms of the inborn aging process and the magnitude of the likely benefits of age retardation. Thus, well-ordered science also requires us to address the social and cultural, and not merely scientific, obstacles that impede the aspiration to retard human aging.

Democracy and mental health ‐ a psychoanalytic contribution

In this paper, the author comments on the influence of political structures on public mental health. Using psychoanalytic theory and a Kleinian framework, the author suggests that current political systems and culture can be inhibiting of mental development and health. The paper explores the concept of democracy as an ideal and the effects it has on public mental health. The paper raises the question of political restructuring as a means of promoting mental health and suggests that there is a role for further interdisciplinary work in this area.

The contribution of psychosocial stress to the obesity epidemic: an evolutionary approach

The Thrifty Gene hypothesis theorizes that during evolution a set of genes has been selected to ensure survival in environments with limited food supply and marked seasonality. Contemporary environments have predictable and unlimited food availability, an attenuated seasonality due to artificial lighting, indoor heating during the winter and air conditioning during the summer, and promote sedentariness and overeating. In this setting the thrifty genes are constantly activated to enhance energy storage. Psychosocial stress and sleep deprivation are other features of modern societies. Stress-induced hypercortisolemia in the setting of unlimited food supply promotes adiposity. Modern man is becoming obese because these ancient mechanisms are efficiently promoting a positive energy balance. We propose that in today's plentifully provisioned societies, where sedentariness and mental stress have become typical traits, chronic activation of the neuroendocrine systems may contribute to the increased prevalence of obesity. We suggest that some of the yet unidentified thrifty genes may be linked to highly conserved energy sensing mechanisms (AMP kinase, mTOR kinase). These hypotheses are testable. Rural societies that are becoming rapidly industrialized and are witnessing a dramatic increase in obesity may provide a historical opportunity to conduct epidemiological studies of the thrifty genotype. In experimental settings, the effects of various forms of psychosocial stress in increasing metabolic efficiency and gene expression can be further tested.

Therapeutic communities: a therapeutic bridge

The original therapeutic community movement has seen a variety of interpretations that may bear little resemblance to the original model. The democratic model concept of social learning offers one approach to further social maturation and personality change. The programmatic or concept model offers another approach based on a behavior code and behavioral concepts. Both of these communities are human groups and appear to share the hereditary behavior of such groups. A Darwinian approach is used to facilitate understanding of both communities. A generic biosocial therapeutic community is described.

Evolutionary psychology and health: confronting an evolving paradigm

In much the same way that developments in genetics have opened up new areas of activity in health services, the 'new genetics' has also stimulated a renewal in approaches that try to explain the nature of health behaviours within the context of human biological development. Evolutionary psychology, as an umbrella term for these views, stresses the importance of the brain as an intermediary between genes and individual behaviour. From such a perspective, social context is less important than an understanding of why certain behaviours are 'chosen' by the evolutionary process and how they are predicated on reproductive success. Health policy is a key area where these ideas are likely to become important given evolutionary psychology's focus on the interplay between physiological and psychological factors in determining health behaviours. Health research provides a fertile environment because it is already seeking the hidden biological pathways connecting social status with specific diseases. The challenge represented by evolutionary psychology needs to be taken seriously because of the way in which such ideas mesh with the individualistic basis of much health promotion and health policy. In particular, it poses a challenge when it purports to explain how inequalities in health are not necessarily the result of the unequal distribution of income in society but are natural phenomena. It is also important to engage with such ideas because they increasingly seem likely to occupy the empty ideological space created by the disappearance of politics in policy and as such may have a greater impact than would otherwise be the case.