[Doscussion] Just finished reading "Is there anything good about men? How cultures flourish by exploiting men" by Roy Baumeister.

Imnotmrabut · 2017-04-01T23:10:03+00:00

Genghis Khan was one of the greatest conquerors in world history. He built an army that subdued much of the known world. He is also said to have had hundreds of children, probably well over a thousand. Great risks and exertions went into his conquests, and indeed at several points in his life it looked as if he would die young and have no children whatsoever. But he persevered and passed on his genes very effectively.

We can debate why no women have achieved what Genghis Khan did, why none have even come close. Perhaps our Imaginary Feminist will grumble that there was some kind of “glass ceiling” holding nomadic Mongol women back. But the evolutionary theorists have a more plausible answer: There is no reason for a woman to take such risks and sacrifices.

Even if a woman did conquer the known world, she could still have only maybe half a dozen babies. (If she spent as much time on horseback and in battle as Genghis Khan, it would have been quite difficult to make time for even half a dozen pregnancies!) There was no payoff for trying for more. It is simply impossible for a woman to have a hundred babies. It is possible for a man, and some men have done it.

Thus, the most underappreciated fact—that we are descended from twice as many women as men—means two things. Men have been the big losers AND big winners, in ways that women generally were not. To the extent that the human mind and its pack of wants and needs was shaped by evolution based on reproduction, men are less likely to play it safe. Nature pushed men to play big games for big stakes.

The Most Underappreciated Fact About Men, page 69

Demonspawn · 2017-04-02T14:42:29+00:00

Two big things I've noticed throughout the book:

The imaginary feminist charade becomes very stretched towards the end of the book, as she is saying things real feminists have argued for.
Like most utopian liberals, he ends the book with the suggestion that there is some "better way" where things are magically equal but, like utopian liberals, has no way to get there.

Other than those two chuckles, I really enjoyed the book.

Title	[Doscussion] Just finished reading "Is there anything good about men? How cultures flourish by exploiting men" by Roy Baumeister.
Author	thedude1019
Upvotes	5
Comments	2
Date	April 1, 2017 7:31 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/62uwp8/doscussion_just_finished_reading_is_there/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/doscussion-just-finished-reading-is-there-anything.927179 https://theredarchive.com/post/927179