How do societies evolve? This is one of the central problems of social anthropology, and in this book C.R. Hallpike proposes an entirely novel solution which no anthropologist can afford to ignore. Current theories all assume that institutions survive and spread because of their adaptive advantages. A wide variety of forms may survive, however, because of a lack of effective competition in an undemanding social environment. Their real evolutionary significance lies in developmental potential. This is particularly true of religious and military institutions and kinship structures; when these are combined in the right way significant new forms, such as the state, may emerge. In his study Professor Hallpike compares in detail the core principles of Chinese and Indo-European society, arguing that a limited number of social and cosmological principles guide the evolution of each society. The traditional concepts of adaptive advantage, random variation, and environmental determinism are effectively challenged. Hardback still available, published December 1986.

C.R. Hallpike's profile page

C. R. Hallpike, Professor of Anthropology, McMaster University.