Handbags and gladrags

Scientists appear to be able to explain that dancing around handbags and also Saturday Night Fever:

Cha-cha-chimp? Ape study suggests urge to dance is prehuman

Chimpanzees seen clapping, tapping and swaying along to piano rhythms in a music booth

There are certain predelictions among humans that predate there being any humans at all. Much of the modern world being explained by this part of the findings:

Males tended to dance and hoot a lot more than the females. One 39-year-old male, Akira, spent half his time dancing when the piano was playing. Another male, Ayumu, came second in the dance-off, spending about a third of his time jigging about in one way or another. Next was Gon who spent about 10% of his time moving to the sounds.

The females, meanwhile, seemed far less enthusiastic. All danced for less than 10% of the time the music was played. One female, Chloe, had only one move – the “hanging sway”, as the scientists called it – but she apparently preferred not to bother at all.

So, that’s both John Travolta and the collective amble around the pocketbooks observed on dance floors all over the country explained.

This is, however, more important than just an explanation for why we’ve vast barns all over the country in which people can go and indulge in this primordial behaviour. For it is indeed showing that such primordial behaviour does persist. It therefore probably being a good idea to order society in accordance with those base and basic urges, not try to build something for a species that isn’t going to turn up.

Which brings us, of course, to market exchange and that point of Smith’s about the innate urge to truck and barter - this being something that we have also seen in chimpanzees. A non-market society, one which tries to outlaw something so natural, isn’t going to work very well, is it?

At which point a Merry Christmas. For gift giving is voluntary exchange, isn’t it…..