4 ms·

It would depend on how often the "in-tribe altruism / out-tribe selfishness" trait crops up in other intelligent species.

• minikites 9y ago
  Exactly, and to me that leads to the question of whether or not selfishness is required for a civilization/society to advance.
  • convolvatron 9y ago
    not much of advance if shortly after we all drown trying to come up with costing models for lifeboat usage
    • minikites 9y ago
      This is veering off topic but your example is one of the reasons capitalism strikes me as a transitional system. It only makes sense to weigh the cost of something like a lifeboat or healthcare when the inputs are scarce. When the inputs become plentiful there's much less of a reason to be so miserly.