The Homeostatic Theory Applied to Society

Damasio starts to really work out at this point in the book, and makes some serious hypothesis's about how and why our societies are the way they are. Damasio carries the biological principles of homeostasis all the way up to our largest institutions, and postulates that because for our own homeostatic survival we need others to survive as well, we build institutions which ensure safety and the increased likelihood of our survival; police and law institutions for example. One example Damasio focuses on in his book is the rise and fall of Soviet Communism. Damasio believes Communism is bound to fail because it goes against the homeostatic principles innate in every human. It commands the sacrifice of the individual for the good of the collective, which from a homeostatic standpoint is not conducive to well-being. In the ideal form it might sound good, but one involved in it he believes people will eventually feel adverse to the practices. This would create a large group of people in a state of homeostatic imbalance, eventually causing a need for serious reform. I take Damasio to mean that because of the homeostatic principles, we will eventually reject Communism no matter how great we think it is before we are involved, because we are violating "human nature." Thus our feelings would be that of sorrow in a general sense, which will eventually call to action the reformation of the system that is not acting in a proper homeostatic way. It's as if our body realizes we need nutrients, and thus we feel hungry; as time passes by we will become more and more desperate to get food. The same mechanism is being applied here by Damasio on a macro level.