The Great Simplification Episode #7: Josh Farley

The Past, Present and Future of Human Cooperation

Greetings Substack followers~

Lots of great conversations these past few weeks for future podcast episodes. I’m trying to connect the multiple facets of our predicament into what I hope - for those who are following along - will be an impressionist painting where if one squints the possible (and desirable) future paths become visible - and can act as a guidepost for us as individuals and as a culture.

Joining me today is my good friend (and PhD advisor) Josh Farley, a Professor of Community Development and Applied Economics at the University of Vermont to discuss human cooperation.

Central to the paths ahead is how human beings interrelate with other human beings. We are a product of natural selection - but at multiple levels - yes individual competition was adaptive, but at times in our past, entire groups coordinated to overcome challenges while other groups perished. We thus come hardwired with flexibility to be competitive and cooperative depending on the circumstances. ‘Cooperating’ is like weightlifting -we have to use the muscles or they will atrophy.

Currently, everyone reading this note resides in a culture that promotes, and even exalts, competition. Is this a natural byproduct of living during the carbon pulse of massive exosomatic surplus? Is this the natural Ayn Randian end state for humanity? Or is it an anomaly vs most of our history as a species?

Josh unpacks these ideas and more and opines on how humans might better cooperate to meet our collective challenges.

Much more content coming soon. I hope you enjoy this week’s conversation with Josh Farley.

https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/07-josh-farley

PS: If interested, please remember to scroll down below the podcast player for the thorough and interesting show notes and references accompanying each episode (thanks to our super intern/librarian Lizzy for curating these)