The marginal value of inequality

The emergence of hereditary inequality is one of the most impactful events in the course of human history. However the ecological conditions and individual decisions fostering emergence remain poorly understood. Particularly lacking is examination of non-elite individual decisions. Behavioral ecological (BE) models enable the investigation of individual behaviors from an evolutionary perspective. Using a variant on the Marginal Value Theorem (MVT), I demonstrate how the presence of circumscription and environmental inequality creates conditions wherein an individual may find subservience to another the optimal option for their individual success. This initial model formulation addresses gaps in existing explanations for why an individual may be a non-elite and provides direction for future research linking ecological variation, individual decisions, and social justice.