On the Problem of Economic Power: Lessons from the Natural History of the Hawaiian Archipelago

Funk, Matt (2009): On the Problem of Economic Power: Lessons from the Natural History of the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Abstract

One of the greatest logicians of the twentieth century, Bertrand Russell, proposed that Economic power, unlike military power, is not primary, but derivative. Curiously, this conjecture has received scarce attention. This paper explores this theory. Our illustrative discourse tests this overlooked theory in the light of evolution: We model Homo evolution by sampling the past ≈1000 years of cultural evolution in the Hawaiian archipelago. Our analysis concludes Russell's theory is true.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: economic power; military power; evolutionary game theory; cultural evolution; resource holding power; long-distance dispersal; Second Amendment; Kamehameha; Hawaii; sovereignty; annexation
• Subjects: Z - Other Special Topics > Z1 - Cultural Economics ; Economic Sociology ; Economic Anthropology > Z10 - General; C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C9 - Design of Experiments > C93 - Field Experiments; N - Economic History > N4 - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation > N40 - General, International, or Comparative

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