Scale Mismatch Threatens Cultural Adaptation

Cultural evolution needs sufficient variation, selection pressures, and a slowly changing environment to produce adaptive social traits. Globalization and rapid economic doubling have shrunk the number of independent cultural niches at large scales, so deep values and moral equilibria no longer vary or get tested locally and thus can maladapt to new conditions. — If true, policy should focus on preserving or creating mechanisms for large‑scale cultural variation or embedding cherished liberal features into socially adaptive structures to avoid long‑run loss of democracy, equality, and open inquiry.