While power has long been a philosophical topic and is one of the central concepts in the social sciences, it is virtually absent from cultural evolutionary theory, which has been presented as suitable and promising for explaining human culture and sociality, their change and complexity. There are, however, two concepts that cultural evolutionary theory employs and that are arguably related to that of power: dominance and prestige. I argue that these concepts are not fit for the task and advocate a pluralistic approach to the study of our social reality, including the power relations essential to it.
Power and cultural evolution / M. Valkovic. - In: TEOREMA. - ISSN 0210-1602. - 45:1(2026 Feb 21), pp. 1-18. [10.30827/trif.34398]
Power and cultural evolution
M. Valkovic
2026
Abstract
While power has long been a philosophical topic and is one of the central concepts in the social sciences, it is virtually absent from cultural evolutionary theory, which has been presented as suitable and promising for explaining human culture and sociality, their change and complexity. There are, however, two concepts that cultural evolutionary theory employs and that are arguably related to that of power: dominance and prestige. I argue that these concepts are not fit for the task and advocate a pluralistic approach to the study of our social reality, including the power relations essential to it.
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