Michael Shermer, who has a new book out on the subject of the evolutionary basis of markets, has a piece on why we often make foolish economic decisions. Envy counts for more than money, apparently.

[Update a little after noon]

More evolutionary psychology: why the pill has reduced the need of men to marry.

I’ve often pointed out that the people who really change society are not the politicians and ideologues, but the engineers.

[Update in the afternoon]

I thin that the first article provides a good example of why, despite their irrationality, socialism and wealth redistribution schemes are so intrinsically appealing to so many, and why they won’t die out, despite their manifest empirical failures. Too many people would prefer that everyone be poor than that a lot are wealthy while a few are superwealthy. Which is sort of depressing, because it means that the ideological wars over this will go on as long as human nature remains what it is.