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RobinHanson comments on Q&A with Harpending and Cochran - Less Wrong
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[I waited until I could get a copy of the book and read it before making my point here.]
In the book you say that foragers had little reason to fight wars or to to be patient for long term investments. But forager wars are often about grabbing women, and they might also make long term investments in particular women or in developing skills, like singing, that can attract women.
I don't agree with you except a little bit. And there are foragers who do have some low time preference, like on the US Northwest Coast where they harvested lots of salmon that they smoked and stored. Interior Eskimo slaughtered migrating caribou herds and stored the meat by freezing.
But in general forager life has been almost literally hand to mouth. I have spent a lot of wasted time pulling my hair out about this. We have had lots of Bushman employees in the Kalahari, well compensated. We have spent hours pointing out that we would go back to America, they should invest in goats or cattle, build up a herd, so they will have something to live on after we left. Everyone agreed with us, but they minute Aunt Nellie got sick everything was slaughtered. Again and again and again. Aargghh......
Henry
My point was theoretical, not empirical. If you say that foragers often seem remarkably uninterested in making sacrifices for the future I'll believe you. But I'm questioning how well we understand that data, by noting that there are some aspects of their lives where they seem to make long term investments. Maybe they just don't have a consistent time preference, maybe it varies by type of behavior; for some areas like learning an art they evolved behaviors that respect future consequences, and for other areas like food storage they did not.
Yes, of course, I will give you that. You are suggesting that "time preference" is way too global and vague a concept and I can't disagree.
HCH
Is your point that they couldn't imagine investing for the future, or that they had so little slack that they couldn't afford to?
They could certainly imagine investing: they have been invaded by cattle people over the last half century and they see husbandry all around. And they certainly could have afforded to keep their animals. But they just didn't (seem to) have it in them to "delay gratification". I think that our ability to invest and save resources must be new and different in our evolution.
My impression is that hunter-gatherers have a huge amount of social pressure towards short-term sharing.
You mentioned "Aunt Nettie getting sick" as a reason to slaughter cattle. Was it food for her? Expensive medical care or rituals? Something else?
Food for her and to support a ritual gathering of folks for support. There is no medical care out in the bush, but if there were people would certainly chip in to help pay for it.
HCH