Companionship of strangers

Humans are the only species that managed to develop a remarkable ability to divide work perfectly among strangers. A simple activity, like buying a shirt, depends on an astonishing network of interaction and organization that covers the entire world. But unlike language — a trait unique to humanity — our ability to cooperate with strangers did not evolve gradually through prehistoric times; for only ten thousand years ago — a blink of an eye from an evolutionary perspective — humans, who were accustomed to hunting in groups, were highly suspicious of strangers and fought them. With the advent of agriculture, humans introduced significant improvements to the division of labor until today we live and work among strangers, relying on millions of them; every time we travel by train or plane, we entrust our lives to people we do not know. So what are the institutions that made this possible? In this book, the author presents an exciting narrative from an evolutionary and social perspective of the emergence of those economic institutions that not only manage markets but also oversee many other aspects of our lives. The author draws on insightful opinions from biology, anthropology, history, and psychology to reveal how our advanced capacity for abstract thinking led to the emergence of institutions like markets and cities; and thus provided the foundation for social trust. This narrative shows us the astonishing oddity and fragility that characterize our daily lives.