\u201cEmpires bought stability at the price of creating a parasitic court; monotheistic religions bought social cohesion at the expense of a parasitic priestly class; nationalism bought power at the expense of a parasitic military; socialism bought equality at the price of a parasitic bureaucracy; capitalism bought efficiency at the price of parasitic financiers.\u201d<\/p>\n
What made Homo sapiens so special? Dr. Ridley argues that it wasn\u2019t our big brain, because Neanderthals had a big brain, too. Nor was it our willingness to help one another, because apes and other social animals also had an instinct for reciprocity. \u201cEmpires bought stability at the price of creating a parasitic court; monotheistic religions bought social cohesion at the expense of a parasitic priestly class; nationalism bought power at the expense of a parasitic military; socialism bought equality at the price … Continue reading
\n\u201cAt some point,\u201d Dr. Ridley writes, \u201cafter millions of years of indulging in reciprocal back-scratching of gradually increasing intensity, one species, and one alone, stumbled upon an entirely different trick. Adam gave Oz an object in exchange for a different object.\u201d
\nhttp:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/05\/18\/science\/18tier.html?ref=science<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"