Yes, I am. The question is not, why did "liberal values" emerge in NW Europe? That's an interesting question that we actually discuss. The question is, why didn't "liberal values" emerge in NW Europe earlier *if you believe that the genetic component is the key determinant*?
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Replying to @paulcurrion
Gregory Clark's work is precisely about this, i.e. the process of genetic modification that underpinned the emergence of capitalism in NW Europe. So, as I say, your argument is with him.
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Replying to @Outsideness
You miss my point. Let's grant Clark's argument - and even you must accept that his argument is highly contested - and let's grant that this argument answers my question. You're then left with a problem: AFAICT that argument doesn't support your point.
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Replying to @paulcurrion
Don't get the last point at all. "My argument" is nothing but a shorthand version of Clark's.
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Replying to @Outsideness
Admittedly I'm cribbing off notes about his book, but you previously said "breeding programs take time", whereas Clark's argument is that natural selection operates far more quickly. So no, your argument isn't a shorthand version of Clark's even on the most obvious points.
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Replying to @paulcurrion
The "breeding programs take time" comment is trivially true, but misleading out of context. Natural selection operates much more quickly than has been assumed, and it's not only Clark who notices. See also Cochran and Harpending.
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Replying to @Outsideness @paulcurrion
... The primary point of contention, if I'm understanding you, is whether human social and biological evolution operate on incommensurable time-scales. ...
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Replying to @Outsideness
It's not a "point of contention". I have expressed no opinion one way or another. I have merely pointed out that you are proposing two contradictory arguments.
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Replying to @paulcurrion
No, I'm saying biological and social-evolutionary time are commensurable. You're trying to muddy the water.
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Replying to @Outsideness
I asked "why didn't "liberal values" emerge in NW Europe earlier? Your first answer was "Why did Rottweilers "show up so late in the game"? Breeding programs take time". Then you argued "Natural selection operates much more quickly than has been assumed".
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Rottweilers were bred on the time-scale of social evolution. So were NW European individualists.
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