This article examines the hypothesis that although the level of democracy in a society is a complex phenomenon involving many antecedents, consanguinity (marriage and subsequent mating between second cousins or closer relatives) is an important though often overlooked predictor of it.
…The data suggest that where consanguineous kinship networks are numerically predominant and have been made to share a common statehood, democracy is unlikely to develop.
Possible explanations for these findings include the idea that restricted gene flow arising from consanguineous marriage facilitates a rigid collectivism that is inimical to individualism and the recognition of individual rights, which are key elements of the democratic ethos.
Furthermore, high levels of within-group genetic similarity may discourage cooperation between different large-scale kin groupings sharing the same nation, inhibiting democracy.
Finally, genetic similarity stemming from consanguinity may encourage resource predation by members of socially elite kinship networks as an inclusive fitness enhancing behavior.
I am skeptical of cross-national democracy regressions at the best of times. I will be surprised if this finding survives inspection. But it is cute and bloggy, and isn’t that what we really want from a paper late at night?
From Josh Keating’s excellent War of Ideas blog, which is worth following. One of my new favorites.
26 Responses
“@bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/gwectXLyDn”
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
translation: kissing cousins are bad for democracy http://t.co/pASFLbOO1m
Game of Thrones is proof @bill_easterly Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/pX7euJ3rNV
SMH at —> Kissing Cousins are bad for Democracy? http://t.co/YlqoB3eMFu
Kissing cousins are bad for democracy? http://t.co/LEGsWA7eI7
RT @bill_easterly: This might be a bad time to mention my great-grandparents were 2nd cousins. http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
Amor entre primos, un no-no para la democracia? http://t.co/nT1ajnabxj
This might be a bad time to mention my great-grandparents were 2nd cousins. http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
RT @tylercowen: “…it is cute and bloggy, and isn’t that what we really want from a paper late at night?” http://t.co/ec8hEnR0tU
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
BREAKING: Fucking your cousins is bad for democracy: http://t.co/jd8DH4CmMC
RT @bill_easterly: Why I love empirical research: new paper shows incest is bad for democracy http://t.co/CvjUUxXU3M
I’m betting we will get more papers like this with the current hype around “big data”. Foreign Affairs recently had a gushing article about the phenomenon which included a section on
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139104/kenneth-neil-cukier-and-viktor-mayer-schoenberger/the-rise-of-big-data?page=2&cid=soc-twitter-in-essays-the_rise_of_big_data-042313
Of course I can’t prove this – but maybe I can run a correlation for you
Pretty sure Ernest Gellner made this argument quite some time ago.
RT @tylercowen: “…it is cute and bloggy, and isn’t that what we really want from a paper late at night?” http://t.co/ec8hEnR0tU
@cblatts And for evidence I cite one Joffrey Baratheon.
“…it is cute and bloggy, and isn’t that what we really want from a paper late at night?” http://t.co/ec8hEnR0tU
If these findings do hold up, it’s fortunate for all of us that C.U.D.D.L.E. — Cousins United to Defeat Discriminating Legislation through Education — is now defunct.
[That group really did exist, and it’s still my favorite acronym, though I never thought I’d get to use it in a blog comment…]
Kissing cousins are bad for democracy? http://t.co/dy5uINpEgU