--- Message Received --- From: "Luke Weiger" <lweiger at umich.edu> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2002 16:07:51 -0800 Subject: Re: Selfish genes & population demographics
Luke: My idea: desiring sex used to be enough to ensure plenty of procreation. However, when sex and consequent child birth are no longer conjoined, the sex drive no longer "works" as a procreative mechanism. References to culture are superfluous.
Greg: I tend to disagree with this if you had in mind modern birth control.
However historically within non-polygamous households, relative wealth always seems to lead to a general decline in childbirth - the reason which works both culturally and biologically is that the comfort zone makes survival rates better and hence it is wisest to invest more in fewer children as a higher proportion will survive.
Culturally, under stressed conditions the parents must consider their own survival under old age so not only does relatively high death rates come into it, the family unit may well depend on having as many possiblities to survive by the the contributions of their children, hence in poor conditions many children may be an asset for all (mutual support).
Greg Schofield Perth Australia g_schofield at dingoblue.net.au _______________________________________________ _______________________________________________
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