Bees

[woodface]

I'm working on my chapter about the bee and this is amazing. Seriously, Marx knew nothing. These bees are more communist than anyone ever could be. The irony of it all is that their society has been an example during Antuiqity and the Middle Ages. Too bad they never learned anything from it.

Comments

[boundbyspells.livejournal.com]

Bee genetics come into play here, though. You can't think of bees as "separate genetic entities working for the common good" (like it would be with humans). Workers are sterile, and genetically identical. Helping each other is helping themselves, from the point of view of natural selection. Helping each other is helping the queen, who is the only one capable of replicating their genetic code.

Using them as social models is basically a bad idea for individual fitness amongst human beings. :)

[woodface]

Go tell that to the Romans and the people in the Middle Ages. They don't believe it's a queen though but a king.