Vladimir_M comments on Is Kiryas Joel an Unhappy Place? - Less Wrong

20 Post author: gwern 23 April 2011 12:08AM

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Comment author: Vladimir_M 23 April 2011 10:20:58PM *  1 point [-]

Yes, but evolution is much slower than cultural change. In principle, it is possible that a society might have very high and very uniform standards for the minimum wealth per child, so that it would take a very long time before evolution undermined these standards noticeably. In the meantime, it would make sense to speak of a Malthusian equilibrium.

In reality, of course, such a situation is highly improbable and (to my knowledge) not attested historically. So it's not really a mistake to equate a Malthusian equilibrium with awful poverty and constant threat of famine. (The latter would of course also have its analogues in a Malthusian upload society, which are not hard to imagine.)

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 23 April 2011 10:28:53PM 1 point [-]

I wasn't referring simply to biological evolution.

Comment author: Vladimir_M 23 April 2011 10:42:56PM 2 points [-]

Fair enough, but that's basically what I also mean when I say that the scenario is possible in principle but extremely unlikely in practice.