NebXan t1_jedbpe6 wrote on March 31, 2023 at 4:36 AM

Reply to comment by mtanfpu in In a post-scarcity utopia, is there a real necessity of human labor of any kind? by kvothekevin

That's not really how it works though. Natural selection necessarily occurs whenever reproduction happens, it's just the evolutionary pressures and the traits that we end up selecting for that change.

mtanfpu t1_jee3bff wrote on March 31, 2023 at 10:41 AM

Nature 'selects' via scarcity of resources. The 'fittest' survives due its comparative competitive advantage over its peers for a specific set of resources. It necessarily entails that said set of resources isn't enough to satisfy everyone.

Take away scarcity, nature selects everyone.

NebXan t1_jeetnda wrote on March 31, 2023 at 2:28 PM

Resource scarcity is just one evolutionary pressure that can direct natural selection.

Consider bacteria, for example. Even if you place them in an environment with an inexhaustible supply of nutrients, if you add small amounts of antibacterial chemicals, you will end up breeding bacteria that are resistant to those antibacterials.

mtanfpu t1_jeewb1y wrote on March 31, 2023 at 2:46 PM

That's.. survival of the fittest ain't it? Here, scarcity lies not with their nutrient supply, but ways to deter their chemical killers?

Edit: I guess I am taking on a broader look at the term 'resource'.