What if the roots of democracy run far deeper than ancient Greece or Enlightenment Europe, but back to our evolutionary origins as humans? In this thought-provoking conversation, evolutionary anthropologist Vivek Venkataraman and renowned scientist David Sloan Wilson dig into how early human societies, particularly hunter-gatherers, managed to balance individual freedom with the needs of the group. Long before constitutions and parliaments, our ancestors developed powerful, organic systems for cooperation, decision-making, and fairness. This discussion explores how evolution shaped us into an ultra-cooperative species, and what modern societies can learn from these ancient ways of living. The implications aren’t just academic; they offer practical insights for strengthening both formal and grassroots democratic governance today, from local communities to global systems. Whether you're into anthropology, politics, or just curious about what it really means to live well together, this is a conversation that bridges past and future in a surprising and meaningful way.

A conversation between Madhusudan Katti and Amitangshu Acharya Join us for a thought-provoking virtual dialogue exploring how colonial worldviews have shaped modern ecology - and what it means to decolonize our relationship with nature in an era of social and environmental upheaval. Building on themes from the This View of Life series “Decolonizing Science", ecologist Madhusudan Katti and writer-researcher Amitangshu Acharya delve into questions at the intersection of science, history, and justice. Together, they’ll challenge dominant narratives and invite us to reimagine ecological knowledge that is rooted in compassion, context, and community.

Originally published on September 9, 2024  

Hunter-gatherer societies are fascinating in their own right and--with appropriate caution--a major source of insight about our ancestral past, stretching back to our origin as a species. Remarkably, hunter-gatherer societies also have much to teach us about modern Democratic governance. Vivek Venkataraman is an idea guide to this subject, with a background in philosophy, primatology, and human evolutionary biology, along with direct experience living with and researching indigenous people in Malaysia.   Originally published January 29, 2025.

Who is Barry-Wehmiller (BW)? Not a person, but a manufacturing corporation and star attraction of the Conscious Capitalism movement. If you are familiar with this movement, you might have read Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, by CEO Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia, co-founder of the Conscious Capitalism movement. Or perhaps a Harvard Business School case report titled Truly Human Leadership at Barry-Wehmiller. But BW deserves to become known far beyond its current circle of fame. Not only has it created an extraordinary culture of caring for itself, but it has replicated its culture in over 140 other companies that it has acquired--or rather adopted, to use its preferred word. Stated in scientific terms that can be understood beyond the business world, BW has conducted a bold experiment in prosocial cultural evolution and replicated it 140 times. An earlier podcast with Chapman and Sisodia views BW through a distinctively evolutionary lens. This podcast covers the same ground in more detail with three senior staff members—Rhonda Spencer, Brian Wellinghof, and David Pickersgill. We are also joined by Michael Pirson, James A.F. Stoner Chair for Global Sustainability at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business, who works closely with BW staff to promote the relevance of BW  throughout the business world.   Originally published on September 16, 2024. https://www.prosocial.world/posts/barry-wehmillers-bold-experiment-in-prosocial-cultural-evolution

The first book-length articulation of an economic paradigm based on complex systems science and evolutionary science was Eric Beinhocker's The Origin of Wealth, published in 2006. He is currently Professor of Public Policy Practice at Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government and Executive Director of INET Oxford. Eric joins me to assess progress during the last 18 years and prospects for the future. One of Eric's recent essays that we discuss is titled Toward a New Ontological Framework for the Economic Good.   Originally published on August 7, 2024. https://www.prosocial.world/posts/assessing-the-complexity-evolution-paradigm-with-eric-beihocker 

In 1831, two youths embarked upon voyages that would change the way that we view the world today. The first was Charles Darwin and the second was Alexis de Tocqueville. Both addressed the nature of competition, cooperation, and community in ways that are highly relevant to the social dilemmas facing us today. Join the legendary Robert Putnam and me as we update these pioneers on what Tocqueville called "self interest, rightly understood."   Originally published May 20, 2024. https://www.prosocial.world/posts/updating-darwin-and-tocqueville-on-self-interest-rightly-understood-with-robert-putnam 

Guru Madhavan is Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar, Senior Director of Programs, and Director of the Forum on Complex Unifiable Systems (FOCUS) at the US National Academy of Engineering. His new book is on how to solve wicked problems anywhere, but it is also rooted in a particular place--Binghamton, New York--where Guru did his graduate training at Binghamton University and where we first met and started working with each other. Join me as we discuss the general nature of wicked problems and how Binghamton and Binghamton University can become a city and university that is adept at solving them. Links: Guru's first book: Applied Minds: How Engineers Think Guru's new book: Wicked Problems: How to Engineer a Better World My earlier print conversation with Guru: Systems Engineering as Cultural Group Selection My short essay with Guru titled Complex Maladaptive Systems   Originally published on February 29, 2024 https://www.prosocial.world/posts/wicked-problems-and-how-to-solve-them

In my writing on generalized Darwinism as a new paradigm for economics and public policy, I stress that it doesn't fall into any current ideological camp. It isn't left, right, or libertarian and draws upon the valid elements of all three. This conversation with the political economist and social philosopher Paul Dragos Aligica illustrates what I mean. Paul is KPMG Professor of Governance at the University of Bucharest and Senior Research Fellow in the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at George Mason University's Mercatus Center. Most people associate the Mercatus Center with free market fundamentalism--after all, mercatus is the latin word for market--but the real situation is far more complex and consilient with new paradigm thinking. My conversation with Paul therefore contributes to the depolarization of economic theory and practice--putting the ideas to work across all social contexts and scales. Originally released on February 21, 2025. https://www.prosocial.world/posts/depolarizing-economic-theory-and-practice-with-paul-dragos-aligica

Is it time to fundamentally rethink economics - its theoretical foundations, activities and processes; its purpose and goals? How should we reimagine and redesign our economic models to better reflect and serve human needs and wants, and the flourishing of all life on our one planet? ‍‍ It is often said that the world faces challenges that are complex and systemic. But in fact, the world is a complex, interconnected “system of systems”. These complexities and interconnectivities amplify the global challenges facing us, whether economic, social or environmental. They also mean that a deep understanding of the behaviour of these systems is critical to solving these problems for the long-term. ‍ Leading evolutionary theorist David Sloan Wilson and influential economist Dennis Snower have long advocated for an improved understanding of economics as a complex system. ‍ Across a recent series of major articles, they argue for a paradigm shift away from the orthodox, neoclassical model of economics, which focuses on individual challenges to be tackled through decisions by individual decision-makers and views ‘externalities’ as a phenomenon to be ‘corrected’ through government intervention, in favour of a new multilevel paradigm, based on insights from evolutionary science. This is a model that takes proper account of the complexity of our social natures and relations, and the centrality of collective challenges in our lives – challenges that can only be effectively tackled through a carefully orchestrated, context-specific combination of social, political and institutional mechanisms. ‍ Though such a paradigm shift has long proved elusive, Snower and Sloan Wilson argue that is an achievable goal, and one that’s more necessary now than ever before, at a time of economic and ecological crisis, when new narratives and new modes of cooperation will be critical to building successful multilateral alliances for innovation and change.