Markets existed before humans to guide behavior and are not only used by humans (preview)

in #life6 years ago

Biological markets

The market for genetic material could be interpreted as the result of the competition for attention of the opposite sex. This would apply to non human animals so it is not restricted to humans. The market for genetic materials would be based on supply and demand. Individual participants in this market would seek to acquire the best genetic material for their offspring. Mating would be the process of reproduction but the market for genetic material would include all the exchanges which take place leading to that event.

We know biological markets exist. Paper wasps for example are older than humans and have market behaviors (behaviors correlated with market behavior in humans). We can observe non-humans to see that these behavior patterns are universal and exist. These markets in my opinion can help us to make sense of behavior in general which emerges from incentives in an environment. I would say market forces create rather than influence behaviors.

References

  1. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13750