Evolutionary biology, political theory and the state

Abstract

Contemporary biology shows that the very existence of those institutions variously described as ‘the law’, ‘the State’ or the ‘political system’ is problematic . But evolutionary theory can help to answer this question, building theoretical bridges between the natural and social sciences and deepening our understanding of human legal behavior. To this end, the relationship between inclusive fitness theory and conventional political theory is sketched. First, the ‘types’ of animal behavior defined by Hamilton are analyzed and related to human social institutions. Then a cost-benefit approach to social theory is related to game theory (the case of the Prisoner's Dilemma) and the theory of collective goods (Hardin's Tragedy of the Commons). On this basis, one can develop a general model of the conditions in which legal institutions (whether or not they include a formal state) are likely to arise. This approach is then linked to traditional explanations of the origins of the political community, law and the state. Using the theories of Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant and Hegel as illustrations, it is shown that existing social and political theories explore ‘archetypical’ problems that can be defined in terms of contemporary models of natural selection. Ultimately, this approach promises improved empirical analyses of the variability of legal systems, a unification of the natural and social sciences, and a return to the classical view that law and justice are not merely a matter of pure convention, but rather are grounded in what is right ‘according to nature’.