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If the "survival of the fittest" part of evolutionary theory holds any truth, then the way that humans externalize what determines who is powerful, raises interesting questions.
We routinely hand wealth and therefore power down from generation to generation, largely without regard to the fitness of the individuals concerned and we increase the impact of this practise by usually seeking to marry within our own social/economic group. You can see how destructive this can all be by looking at the physical and psychological defects which afflict much of European royalty/aristocracy and also by the way that although their residual wealth allows many still to live very well, most of their power is now held by others.
The only people in our society who really have to prove their personal fitness are those at the bottom of the economic ladder and perhaps our turning of the natural selection process on its head is one reason our history is so full of conflict. One also has to wonder about the long-term wisdom of allowing our species to be led by people who in Nature's terms often should not be our leaders.
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