In many, many ways. For example, if I take your food, you’re more likely to starve and I’m less likely to starve. You’ll be less healthy and hence less attractive as a mate and I’ll be more healthy and hence more attractive as a mate.
If I take half your food… you better drop and show your belly if you want to eat anything next time. You might want to stab me in the back, but as long as I bribe more and better individuals to protect me from wannabe backstabbers, I’ll stay in power and you’ll have to either give up that food, or get in bigger trouble. If you manage to assemble enough bottom dogs like yourself, or you bribe some bodyguards of your own… that’s how wars get born.
The traditional way is to not take any from the bodyguards and instead give them part of what I’d take from you, or directly task them with taking part of your food in exchange for a cut, while having them control each other and compete for my favor. Meanwhile, you’d have it harder to bribe anyone with what you had left if you don’t want to starve.
Unless… are you stronger than others? Do you want to be a bodyguard and get a cut from taking food from others? 😏
How does screwing over others provide an advantage to propagating genes?
O_o
In many, many ways. For example, if I take your food, you’re more likely to starve and I’m less likely to starve. You’ll be less healthy and hence less attractive as a mate and I’ll be more healthy and hence more attractive as a mate.
No if you take my food now I’m your enemy and you have two problems.
That’s if you were able to pose a threat, in which case it would be less compelling to take your food, and the whole thing might not happen.
If I take half your food… you better drop and show your belly if you want to eat anything next time. You might want to stab me in the back, but as long as I bribe more and better individuals to protect me from wannabe backstabbers, I’ll stay in power and you’ll have to either give up that food, or get in bigger trouble. If you manage to assemble enough bottom dogs like yourself, or you bribe some bodyguards of your own… that’s how wars get born.
How are you gonna bribe people if you’re always screwing everyone over?
The traditional way is to not take any from the bodyguards and instead give them part of what I’d take from you, or directly task them with taking part of your food in exchange for a cut, while having them control each other and compete for my favor. Meanwhile, you’d have it harder to bribe anyone with what you had left if you don’t want to starve.
Unless… are you stronger than others? Do you want to be a bodyguard and get a cut from taking food from others? 😏
Not necessarily. If you’re not a threat, for example I’m bigger or have higher social status than you, then taking your food is no problem for me.
I’m a human, a tool-using creature. You have to be a hell of a lot bigger than me before I’m not a threat to you.
I think you’re missing the point. Humans can and do screw over other humans, and doing so impacts gene propagation.