Scientists have proven that attempts to build an ideal society (as we imagine it now) are doomed to failure
Throughout its conscious life, the cherished dream of humanity has been the creation of an ideal society. Believers imagined it as a paradise. Socialists reveled in visions of a utopian society and developed a communist model that attracted many. The bourgeois state put forward the idea of a consumer society. But how to find out what awaits us in the bright future? Is it achievable in principle? American scientist John Calhoun in 1968 began his famous experiment to create a paradise on earth. Since such experiments on people are prohibited in science (in politics - as much as you like!) Calhoun chose mice as the object of the experiment, since in the natural environment they behave like social animals. The experiment lasted 16 months and ended in disaster. By December 1969, the mouse population had nearly wiped out itself.
DREAMS COME TRUE
The tailed builders of the new society received everything they need to be happy (see the diagram HOW WERE A PARADISE FOR RODENTS IS DESIGNED?). The participants in the experiment were provided with an abundance of water, food and materials for building nests. The room was kept at a comfortable temperature, there were no epidemics and diseases in the colony - Calhoun used a special strain of laboratory mice with increased immunity. The scientist's paradise had only one drawback - it was built in conditions of overcrowding, which is familiar to us from communal apartments. The fact is that Calhoun wanted to study the effect of excess population density on the social behavior of living things. He chose this topic for research, because then apocalyptic predictions were very popular, which frightened humanity with death due to the uncontrolled growth in the number of people.
It was known from previous experiments that 12 rodents can coexist without problems in one colony. Therefore, 48 tailed lucky ones were settled in 4 compartments. Having discovered that heaven on earth still exists, the mice began to vigorously reproduce. When the population of the colony almost doubled, reaching 80 adults, the offspring that had survived infancy began to be taken away. Thus, the adult population was stable. And its density remained too high. Then, for 16 months, Calhoun observed the behavior of his charges.
END OF THE GOLDEN AGE
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It would be logical to assume that the mice will be divided equally - 20 per pen. But that did not happen. As in natural conditions, fights between males for leadership began in the mouse paradise. As a result, compartments 1 and 4 were captured by the two champions of these fights. Each got himself a harem, which included from 8 to 12 females. Here patriarchal mice reigned: females gave birth to babies and took care of them. And the alpha male was mostly busy fighting off competitors' attempts to enter his territory. Therefore, almost all the time (with the exception of feeding and mating) he was on duty at the entrance to the corral and even slept there.
As a result, about 60 remaining mice were forced to huddle in two central compartments. At the same time, the tailed beasts began to demonstrate behavioral traits that are very well known to us as the vices of human society. What are these features?
American scientist John Calhoun in 1968 began his famous experiment to create heaven on earth
- Increased aggression. The remaining males were forced to fight much more often than in nature. The strongest of them took the place of leaders, but their character deteriorated noticeably. At times they "went crazy": for no reason they attacked females, babies and subordinate males. At the same time, the “bandits” showed sadistic inclinations, for example, they bit their victims by the tail, which they never do in nature.
- Social passivity. One group of subordinate males became social defeatists. They only "seized stress" and were not interested in anything else: they did not try to "make friends" with females, ignored the rest of their fellow tribesmen. All their free time from eating and sleeping, they arranged a "beauty salon" at their home and looked after their fur. Calhoun called them "handsome."
- Sexual deviations. Another part of the males began to demonstrate expansive bisexuality. They were concerned only with sex and with obscene "offers" attacked other males, young animals and females who were not ready to mate. These renegades were also seen in cannibalism - eating their own kind (although there was plenty of food!)
- Degradation of the “family” institution. Females lost parental instinct. They stopped building nests and gave birth to mice right on the floor. Then many "mothers" stopped caring for the offspring and the abandoned young after a while were devoured by adult males. The mortality rate of young stock in the two central compartments ranged from 80 to 92 percent. In addition, more than half of the females died as a result of aggressive raids by groups of sexually anxious males.
Photo: Dmitry POLUKHIN
WHAT MUCH LEARNED TO PEOPLE
As a result, it was possible to keep the population in an adequate state only in two extreme compartments, where two authoritarian leaders pursued a "policy" of isolation from the outside world. And in corrals 2 and 3, the mouse society degraded, having lost its "spiritual bonds." This study shocked Western society (we were then building communism and were confident that we were in a socialist paradise with one foot). It is difficult to think of a big mockery of the dreams of prominent humanists of the vulgar and present about a bright future. The choice between authoritarian despotism and the anarchy of self-destruction (many took the results of the experiment head-on) is not a very bright prospect. Calhoun has become an extremely sought-after and popular person. In 1972, he met Pope Paul VI in Rome at the 1973 Special World Conference on Future Research. His works were discussed by political leaders …
“We talked about my mice, but all the time we were thinking about a man,” Calhoun joked.
However, John himself was not misanthropic. The experiment with rodents cannot be mechanically transferred to humans, he believed. In people, social relationships are built much more complex and the mechanism of the emergence of a behavioral cloaca (as Calhoun called pathological forms of behavior in crowded conditions) is more cunning. For example, a follow-up study that was conducted in 1975 in parts of New York City found no relationship between excess population density and mortality and fertility rates, aggressive behavior (forensic evidence), or mental health problems (admission to mental hospitals). But Calhoun believed that his followers were digging in the wrong place. In his opinion, among people, a behavioral cloaca could arise only in specific conditions, for example, in an overcrowded prison. Indeed,A study by the National Institute of Justice of the United States found that in prisons, there was less than 4.5 m2 of area per inhabitant, significantly higher rates of mortality, homicide, suicide, morbidity and disciplinary problems. It has been proven that in overcrowded conditions, the quality and productivity of labor decreases (hello to "open spaces", where employers transfer office workers!). Something similar to a behavioral cesspool can be observed in communal apartments packed to capacity …where employers are replacing office workers!). Something similar to a behavioral cesspool can be observed in communal apartments packed to capacity …where employers are replacing office workers!). Something similar to a behavioral cesspool can be observed in communal apartments packed to capacity …
GIVE POPULATION
As Kapitsa said, "The interpretation of an experiment is a matter of taste." Calhoun said: “I cannot believe that the birth of a new person can pose any threat to others. This is a positive development. Birth control will only weaken our population. Only new people and new ideas can save her! " Practice has shown that Calhoun was right. For example, in the 30s of the twentieth century, economists calculated that given the growth in population, already in the 1950s the planet should be engulfed in hunger. But due to the green revolution in agriculture (breeding more productive varieties, the use of fertilizers and technology) in most countries, it was possible to solve the problem of hunger and feed the additional 5 billion mouths that have appeared on Earth over the past 65 years. However, Calhoun's research is a serious warning to humanity.
Yaroslav KOROBATOV