“An ecological theory of history, with implications for understanding human nature, poverty, politics and contemporary policy.

* Niches are professions.

* Species are vehicles for niche discovery. Each niche establishes a limit on population; individuals compete for a slice of this pie by natural selection. A niche is not about survival but about lifestyle; children want to grow up in the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed.

* A crucial part of success in leaving behind descendants is to correctly estimate the optimum number of children to maximize one’s chances.

* For the last 10,000 years man has been able to create new niches.

* Man is an ice age species. The ice age wasn’t actually colder across the planet. Since the ice caps were larger, the oceans receded. The tropical savannahs were larger.

* Man has evolved to like broad open spaces, and to value choice.

* Wealth and poverty are two extreme types of niche. The wealthy live lifestyles closer to those they were evolved to enjoy. The poor are poor because their constraints deny them various aspects of this lifestyle.

* The poor have many children because more children don’t require much more to raise. The rich have few children because they can’t afford more in their lifestyle.

* As a civilization grows, its poor grow in number.

* The rich feel first the pinch of narrowing niche spaces. These lead their children to trade.

* Trading ships are temptations to pirates and require armored defense.

* Trading civilizations have occasion to practice and perfect warcraft.

* As trading grows, life improves for all. Population grows in response.

* The rich, once again squeezed, eye neighboring lands.

* If the neighboring lands have barbarians who live relatively ‘rich’ lives, they are conquered by large densities of poorer people. And technology.

* Wars of aggression are always caused by rising numbers. Wars of aggression are always popular wars.

* Wars are not won by superior numbers but by superior technology and technique. All you need is a superiority of two to one or three to one at the point of contact of opposing infantry. Good generalship is about making this happen.

* Aggressive war becomes a habit to nations that pursue it successfully.

All this seems politically incorrect and even depressing, especially since it indicates profound limitations in what man can desire. Controlling birth rate is the primary way to transcend the pattern of history.