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> people care more about how much they earn compared to their neighbors Evolution should select for this "comparative success" behavior, possibly even if its o

• ProblemFactory 13y ago
  Regardless of any competitive or status-based desires, income relative to your neighbours (everyone in your city) is a big part of actual purchasing power. In most cities, housing prices are based on land value, not construction costs. And land value is entirely based on demand: what your neighbours are willing to pay for the same lot. And most services are priced based on the salaries of your neighbours - the more you earn relative to them, the more of their time you can afford.
  • finnw 13y ago
    This does not necessarily conflict with the diminishing returns theory. If you are 4x as rich as your neighbours, you will probably want to move to a more affluent area. At which point you will have richer neighbours (i.e. stronger competition.) There's a good chance you will again be dissatisfied with your relative wealth and be motivated to increase it further.
• shas3 13y ago
  Evolution and (what you presumably refer to as) natural selection don't work that way. It is a pernicious mistake to apply 'evolution' and 'natural selection' to everything. In the interest of good science and the society's well being [1] we should resist the temptation to unscrupulously apply 'evolution' in non-specific, and non-evolutionary biology contexts. Social Darwinism is especially pernicious. [1] http://io9.com/how-the-pseudoscience-of-social-darwinism-nearly-destro-1308329496 http://io9.com/how-the-pseudoscience-of-social-darwinism-nea...