The Paradox of the Mouth-Fusean Limits

There was a limit to the number of people that you could find in any part of the world, but also a limit to how they could live. Our ancestors evolved social institutions and norms which were designed to enable our ancestors to cope with those limits. The paradox is that it's only innovation and sustained innovation that will enable you to escape from that mouth-fusean trap. And so for an episode of innovation to be sustained in the long run, as the modern one has been, you have to get find a way of breaking down or getting round those social structures, norms and rules that inhibit innovation.