Memetic Evolution is accelerating
Genetic evolution is necessarily a slow process, being dependent on random mutations in DNA; even small changes take tens of thousands of years to become effective in society as a whole. Memetic evolution is much faster; it depends on the speed of generation and transmission of ideas. However, for our hunter-gatherer forbears living in isolated bands progress came slowly; lifestyles hardly changed over hundreds of years. As communication has improved so memetic evolution has accelerated. Humans have become ever more successful as population has grown from millions to billions. Nowadays, ideas can be exchanged in a matter of seconds via the internet. We can see evolution happening in our lifetime; it’s changing lifestyles, altering our culture and affecting the environment.
Technological development has always been an agent of evolutionary change. Five groups of developments can be called paradigm shifts because they have revolutionised the shape of human society; new forms of lifestyle emerged and wholly new types of community were created with completely different sorts of interaction.
The first paradigm shift was the upper Palaeolithic revolution when human hunter-gatherers first conquered the planet. The only types of communities then were families, bands and groups of bands sharing the same dialect.
The second shift came with the Neolithic revolution when humans first domesticated animals and cultivated plants. Higher levels of population density enabled people to form a larger organisation, the tribe. Within tribes more complicated community structures evolved with clans and groups of warriors and priests.
Thus far violent competition between communities had remained the principal driver of memetic evolution. This began to change after the third paradigm shift with the development of writing and the use of metals. The use of metals allowed elite bands of armed warriors to seize power. A centrally controlled army was established and states gained a monopoly on violence. Writing enabled them to establish laws, manage taxes and control larger territories. To provide goods for this new rich elite, cities were formed containing merchants, artisans and traders. Within states violence was discouraged. Rulers wanted their citizens to provide goods, services and taxes to them, and not to fight amongst each other.
States still continued to wage war in a process of violent evolutionary competition. But within states a second form of evolutionary competition developed. Family businesses competed commercially with other family businesses. Those with the best technology, culture and organisation thrived. The unique memes of failed businesses ceased to exist. Memetic evolution speeded up as both violent and commercial competitive forces worked side by side. New methods of transport allowed commerce to develop. Money was invented. Wind and water powered new machinery. A new class of merchants and manufacturers emerged who found power and influence in the new-found cities. Life became much richer and more complicated and civilisation, as we understand it, was established.
Memetic evolution accelerated again after the fourth paradigm shift. This began as the industrial revolution in Britain in the eighteenth century. It spread to Europe and North America in the nineteenth century and throughout the world in the twentieth century. The structure of society changed once more; right across the world, kings, aristocrats and priests lost power. Now more than half the world’s population are employed by companies and live in cities; wholly new types of communities have been formed such as trade-unions. States recognised the importance of education, most children now attended school. The real power-houses of the industrial revolution, however, were joint stock companies. These companies raised money by issuing share certificates to investors. Dividends were paid and shares could be traded on a stock exchange. Those companies that thrived could raise more money and grow. Those that failed ceased to exist. Technical development was driven forward by companies competing with each other in an evolutionary process known as capitalism.
Today, we are on the cusp of a fifth paradigm shift, the information revolution. This revolution has allowed instantaneous communication across the world and enabled huge volumes of information to be stored with almost immediate access. It also promises huge advances in bio-technology and robotics.
We now live in a globally interactive world, which has allowed new types of international community to be formed. There are international NGOs such as the Red Cross and FIFA. A new globally mobile rich elite has evolved who hide their wealth in tax havens out of the reach of state tax authorities. Multi-national companies now source their products from the cheapest locations and deliver fantastic technologies at affordable prices to every part of the globe.
Violent competition between major states has virtually stopped. There has been no direct confrontation between major powers since the Korean War. It is commercial competition between multi-national companies that is now the main driver of memetic evolution. Companies such as Google, Facebook and Amazon have risen from nothing to become global powers who have changed the way we live.
The rate of technological change is now so great that human culture and organisation is struggling to adapt. Our culture has evolved to communicate face to face and later in print. It seems the internet and the mobile phone has released a whole new wave of human nastiness in the form of bullying, crime and pornography. We still don’t know the long-term effect of this on our young. Technology is bringing with it job insecurity, jobs now change several times within a lifetime. It is also subverting the democratic process by transmitting fake news, rumour and terrorism. And it is changing the nature of war between countries. China, Russia and North Korea have already used it to disrupt the economies of the West, drones and armed robots have the potential to disrupt it further.