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Agriculture as a major evolutionary transition to human ultrasociality

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  • John Gowdy
  • Lisi Krall

Abstract

The adoption of agriculture was one of the most momentous transformations in human history. It set into motion forces that changed our species from living in small numbers within the confines of local ecosystems into one that is now changing the biophysical characteristics of the entire planet. We argue that this transformation can be understood as a leap to ultrasociality—a type of social organization rare in nature but wildly successful when it occurs. Several species of ants and termites made a similar leap in social organization and the broad characteristics of their societies are remarkably similar to post hunter-gatherer human societies. Ultrasocial species dominate the ecosystems they occupy in terms of sheer numbers and the scale of ecosystem exploitation. We argue that the drivers for the ultrasocial transition to agriculture are economic. These societies operate as superorganisms exhibiting an unparalleled degree of division of labor and an economic organization centered around surplus production. We suggest that the origin of human and insect agriculture is an example of parallel evolution driven by similar forces of multi-level selection. Only with the evolution of expansionist agriculturalist societies did humans join ants and termites in the social domination of Earth. Viewing agriculture as an ultrasocial transition offers insights not only about the origins of agriculture and its consequences, but also about the forces shaping the current demographic transition and the modern global socio-economic system. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

Suggested Citation

  • John Gowdy & Lisi Krall, 2014. "Agriculture as a major evolutionary transition to human ultrasociality," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 179-202, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbioec:v:16:y:2014:i:2:p:179-202
    DOI: 10.1007/s10818-013-9156-6
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    Cited by:

    1. Fix, Blair, 2020. "Economic Development and the Death of the Free Market," Working Papers on Capital as Power 2020/01, Capital As Power - Toward a New Cosmology of Capitalism.
    2. Serge Svizzero, 2016. "Foraging Wild Resources: Evolving Goals of an Ubiquitous Human Behavior," Post-Print hal-02147756, HAL.
    3. Fix, Blair, 2020. "Economic Development and the Death of the Free Market," SocArXiv g86am, Center for Open Science.
    4. David Wilson & John Gowdy, 2015. "Human ultrasociality and the invisible hand: foundational developments in evolutionary science alter a foundational concept in economics," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 37-52, April.
    5. Blair Fix, 2022. "Economic development and the death of the free market," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 1-46, April.
    6. Clement Allan Tisdell & Serge Svizzero, 2017. "Optimization Theories of the Transition from Foraging to Agriculture: A Critical Assessment and Proposed Alternatives," Post-Print hal-02145490, HAL.
    7. Serge Svizzero & Clement A. Tisdell & Duncan Watson, 2016. "Economic evolution, diversity of societies and stages of economic development: A critique of theories applied to hunters and gatherers and their successors," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 1161322-116, December.
    8. Clement Allan Tisdell & Serge Svizzero, 2016. "Different Behavioral Explanations of the Neolithic Transition from Foraging to Agriculture: A Review," Working Papers hal-02147758, HAL.
    9. Serge Svizzero & Clement Allan Tisdell, 2016. "Economic evolution, diversity of societies and stages of economic development: A critique of theories applied to hunters and gatherers and their successors," Post-Print hal-02147753, HAL.
    10. Hagens, N.J., 2020. "Economics for the future – Beyond the superorganism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    11. Makowsky, Michael D. & Smaldino, Paul E., 2016. "The evolution of power and the divergence of cooperative norms," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 126(PA), pages 75-88.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bioeconomics; Division of labor; Economies of scale; Evolutionary economics; Neolithic demographic transition ; Origin of agriculture; Ultrasociality; B52; N5; Q1; Q5;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B52 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Modern Monetary Theory;
    • N5 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries
    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture
    • Q5 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics

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