Simone Barbera

“Some groups inevitably suffered more fitness-reducing events – experiences that negatively impacted their ability to survive and pass on their genes. And these were the groups that ended up being more cooperative than those that suffered less. What’s more, these positive effects on cooperativeness were stronger when shared suffering resulted from intergroup conflict than from natural disaster. In short, doing badly made the group pull together more tightly.”
― Harvey Whitehouse, Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World

“Excavations at the ancient Sumerian city of Ur reveal that 85 percent of texts record some sort of an economic transaction. Therefore, writing evolved to meet the demands of a growing economy as well as a growing state tax apparatus.”
― David Stasavage, The Decline and Rise of Democracy: A Global History from Antiquity to Today

“in more and more spheres of American life, well-intentioned people who genuinely believe that they are fighting for righteous causes are doing what they can to make racial identity the all-encompassing dividing line of American life.”
― Yascha Mounk, The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure

“members of the revolutionary battalions – those who fought on the frontline – were more likely to choose their comrades. They felt more fused with their fellow fighters than with their own flesh and blood.”
― Harvey Whitehouse, Inheritance: The Evolutionary Origins of the Modern World