The bioeconomics of homogeneous middleman groups as adaptive units: Theory and empirical evidence viewed from a group selection framework

Abstract

In a “Letter to the Editors” of the Journal of Bioeconomics, biologist David Sloan Wilson (2000, pp. 272–273) wrote:I am responding to Wilson’s (2000) letter. I present empirical evidence in the form of a number of case studies of homogeneous middleman groups (HMGs) operating in less-developed economies in various parts of the world to showcase the empirical reality of HMGs functioning as adaptive units; hence presenting very important empirical evidence of the existence and importance of group selection in human society. But before doing so, it is necessary to revisit the evolution of my theory of the “ethnically homogeneous middleman group” (EHMG) and link it with Wilson’s discussion of human social groups as adaptive units, viewed from a group selection framework.