A recent episode of the long-running podcast Econtalk profiled the author, Gaurav Suri, and his book, “The Emergent Mind: How Intelligence Arises in People and Machines.” I have been an Econtalk listener for many years. I remember listening to the interviews of Milton Friedman when they were released in 2006 (Part I, Part II). So, apparently I’ve been a listener for at least two decades now. Milton Friedman, among others, will have a recurring role to play in my commentary and real-world efforts at community improvement. But first, consider closely what is meant by “emergent intelligence” in this context. Perhaps a decent definition: Biological systems manifesting elements of elegance and sophistication that arises without the intentional design of those living within the system.
What immediately caught my attention in the Gaurav Suri episode was an anecdote about ant colonies:
Ants by themselves do not distinguish themselves by their intelligence. You put an ant on a flat surface and the ant is pretty much going to walk around until it dies of exhaustion. And yet, together they’re capable of extreme intelligence, like building cities and finding the short way around obstacles.
So the question is: What are they doing?
Yes! What are they doing? And what can be discerned for communities of people?
Welp, there is definitely more to this story. There apparently is, in fact, a distinct field of study on the topic that I have yet to delve into. Who’d a thunk it? There was even an Econtalk episode back in 2007 titled Deborah Gordon on Ants, Humans, the Division of Labor and Emergent Order. I don’t recall listening to it. Maybe an illustration of the ability to sometimes miss the obvious. The summary for this Deborah Gordon episode includes the following fascinating sentence:
The conversation begins with what might be called the economics of ant colonies, how they manage to be organized without an organizer, the division of labor and the role of tradeoffs.
The economics of ant colonies! Oh, my! These ant colonies sound almost like what would be described as evolved…Communism! No individual intelligence required. No individual choice permitted. Healthcare is, perhaps, limited to just palliative care. Ant, heal thyself (or not) and then get back to work!
Without the capability of “intelligent design,” can it be said that there is any innovation in an ant colony? But an ant colony definitely looks innovative! Shouldn’t there be a Wall Street in every ant colony? No stock market? How is this possible?
So, was Marx postulating that humans would evolve (via revolution) to communism or devolve to communism?
While I am no expert, there seems to be a lot more to this idea. Before being presented with the notion that an ant colony could inform my thinking I was contemplating the human flourishing, even under severe “oppression,” of the Amish communities. Of course, the Amish would likely point out that their “oppression” is, in reality, their self-restraint.
Restraining oneself against what? Perhaps, simply, “don’t do stupid [excrement]?”
I’m kinda thinking that this characterization hits close to the mark. Keep in mind that the Amish can hardly be said to be an involuntary burden on anyone. While they do not pay social security taxes (as long as they apply for the exemption), they are not exempt from other taxes. And they rarely are recipients of government transfers. They don’t get Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid (except in rare circumstances), SS Disability, blah, blah, blah. They take care of each other.
Seems like an objective conclusion would be that very little “welfare” should be required for people that “religiously don’t do stupid [excrement].” “Religiously” was used as a pun. And where would human flourishing be if the level of welfare spending were set at the level to take care of those suffering only as a result of things beyond their control? What could be accomplished with the “investments” that would be released?
And then consider the margin for error for populations that “religiously don’t do stupid [excrement]” while taking advantage of all of the “tools” that the Amish eschew? Would we already have cities on Mars? Consider the contributions of migrants (legal) from certain ethnic groups and their first generation of native born progeny who up until recently were widely discriminated against at elite universities. They were doing so well they needed to be kneecapped! Or, instead of performing superiorly “by design” were these groups simply strong adherents to the “don’t do stupid [excrement]” way of life and also “cared for each other?” Is this where “emergent prosperity” comes from?
I welcome your comments as I contemplate next steps for what I can do to benefit Portage County residents. There does seem to be some rather fundamental and easy self-help steps for residents in communities to take. More on that later.