The scale and complexity of both honey bee and human
societies present an important evolutionary puzzle. In every human society,
people cooperate with many unrelated individuals and groups -- division
of labor, trade, and large-scale conflicts are common. The sick, hungry,
and disabled are cared for, and social life is regulated by commonly held
moral systems that are enforced, albeit imperfectly, by third-party sanctions.
In contrast, in other primate species, cooperation is
limited to relatives and small groups of reciprocators. There is little
division of labor or trade and no large-scale conflict. No one cares for
the sick, or feeds the hungry or looks after the disabled. The strong
take from the weak without fear of sanctions by third parties.
In honey bees, there is evidence of almost all of the
above social interactions. Bees groom other bees to clean them of potential
parasites, they feed each other, divide labor, enforce monarchy, tend
to the young, fight invaders, and, in times of dearth, lose sight of morality
and violently rob weaker colonies.
As with honey bees, competition between large, genetically
differentiated groups led to the evolution of prosocial psychology and
innate behavior. We all congregate in concentric rings of group affinity
that are modulated by ritualized behavior - be that the family, the tribe
or the sports team, the nation or religion -- all form such rings of loyalty.
In hard times, it is standard beekeeping practice to
make one strong colony of two weaker ones, since the weak have slim survival
chances and are likely to be robbed. Such coalitions create a new environment
where genetically unrelated honey bees will cooperate in one colony.
Human history is full of such coalitions.
When we dive into the profound analogies that humans share with honey bee society, we can better understand our own motivations.
