Evolution is more than mere persistence

Something I think about often is evolution. In the context of living creatures, evolution is a process of change, arising as a result of external conditions, that facilitates the survival of the species. Guns, Germs, and Steel (which I’m only halfway done with and I just discovered is available as a movie on DVD!) is an essay about why different peoples evolved at different rates. The impetus is to answer a question of why the haves are the haves and the have-nots are the have-nots (instead of the other way around).

The success of evolution is found in the persistence of a species or group. If the change results in a greater population (and perhaps greater welfare) of the group, the evolution was successful. Jared Diamond goes through a discussion of the evolution of disease, for example. When humans became sedentary and lived in groups large enough for disease to thrive in, we acquired sicknesses evolved from animal diseases. From animals we’d domesticated in large enough numbers to sustain disease. In the beginning, many of these killers wiped out whole populations but soon evolved not to kill, allowing people to carry the disease longer and transmit it to more people.

In answering the have/have-not question though, I think we have to take into consideration that mere persistence through population is not the only measure of success. Now, a tribe that exerts more power, consumes more resources and is more resistant to disease is more “successful” than a tribe with a much larger population that is prone to poverty and disease. (I imagine that Jared Diamond will get there, and I’ll let you know what he says about that.)

But there are other issues that may or may not perpetuate the tribe but seem to me to be part of our evolution. Issues that arise as we pursue liberty and well being, demand tolerance and acceptance and ask for compassion and humanity. They are part of our evolution because of our huge population growth, our collective affect on the environment and the rapid exchange of information around the globe. Just like the right ingredients allowed certain diseases to arise, these conditions brought about these issues.

When looking at the problems of the world, I feel like we’re seeing the old clashing with the new. In the old way of evolution, people killed, displaced and enslaved other populations to perpetuate their tribe. In the new way, we protect other populations, attempt to understand the enemy and promote everyone's participation in making the world. In the old way the earth was to be mined, rivers dammed and mountains flattened for industry, animals raised and killed and crops grown to feed and grow populations. In the new way, we develop industry that gives back what we take from the earth, minimize our exploitation of animals and treat them more humanely.

The rate of change has recently accelerated because we’ve discovered that we can’t afford not to. The old way will destroy us. So how do we appeal to those populations (and leaders) still trying to perpetuate their tribe the old way? In Sudan, Israel, Afghanistan and Iraq, tribes are still killing and displacing. In China, Peru, and the United States, tribes are still raping the land. The new way doesn’t justify killing and displacing. It encourages participation and understanding, asks that we act as a single tribe to find solutions to common problems and use mercy on those who seek to destroy us. That’s our evolution.