Sociobiology's relevance to modern society: commentary on two articles published here

Abstract This article looks at two articles recently published here, one by R. Hopcroft [“Sex, status, and reproductive success in the contemporary United States,” Evolution and Human Behavior 27 (2006) 104–120] the second by M. Fieder and S. Huber [“The effects of sex and childlessness on reproductive effort in modern humans,” Evolution and Human Behavior 28 (2007) 392–398]. They both report a positive relationship between male income and male fertility, which marks a real advancement in our knowledge. Hopcroft speculates at the end of her article that the father's status and female fertility will be positive, too. At this point, this will depend on her and others' reaction to the efforts of S. Huber, F. Bookstein, and M. Fiedler. (2010). Socioeconomic status, education, and reproduction in modern women: an evolutionary perspective. American Journal of Human Biology, 22, 578-587. M. Fieder and S. Huber. (2007). The effects of sex and childlessness on the association between status and reproductive output in modern society. Evolution and Human Behavior, 2, 392-398. are not explicit about this relationship; their closing lines just leave open the possibility that it might be positive. The conclusion is that sociobiology is not really relevant yet to the understanding of modern, industrial society, urban civilization in general, except to show us the various restraints imposed by inborn human nature.