Note this book was published in 2007. Had I noticed, I likely would have chosen another book.
In the preface to the 50th anniversary edition of “The Selfish Gene”, Dawkins pointed out that the title of his book could have been changed to “The Cooperative Gene” without changing the meaning of anything in the book. There is a false distinction between selfish and social at every group selection level, from human society to genes. Often the selfish thing to do is the social / cooperative thing to do. Whatever works: works.
This is not a new observation. Wilson cited The Grumbling Hive, a poem from 1705, which influenced the Scottish Enlightenment observation of the emergent order of society from human action but not human design. The idea of undesigned social evolution predates Darwin by a century (and was arguably the foundation Darwin built on). Wilson’s claim that we are only recently, “the last 20 years”, (presumably from 2007) applying Darwin’s idea to everything social puts the cart before the horse by a solid 250 years.
The Grumbling Hive described organization by demand, but erred regarding supply. A few decades later, Adam Smith described organization by supply, but erred with his labor theory of value (a theory later taken to its logical conclusion by Marx). The subjective theory of value had to be rediscovered on the great merry go round of economic thought.
Market forces provide economic variation and replication, selected by voting consumers. Wilson repeatedly casts subtle shade on decision making by people with skin in the game serving consumers. In Wilson’s defense, the complexity of phenomenon that emerge from markets are under appreciated by academics paid through grants and insulated from the market. (Often by choice. It’s a tough world out there.) Two decades later, his comments on rich societies needing to spend more on basic research brought a knowing grin.
That is my biggest issue with this good book. But I voted with my $10 Audible credit, consumed it, and then spent the same for “Science in the Soul” written and edited by Dawkins and others. The latter is a better value for the $10, but Wilson’s book provides valuable fodder for thinking about why I would invest energy altruistically / socially / cooperatively telling you what I think of it. 4 / 5.