Niche Constructions
Micro-environments and micro-climates are niche environments that develop due to unique conditions. The use of a niche in reference to democracy acts in the same manner. Democracy requires a very unique set of nutrients to thrive.
Violence, inequity, slavery, and misogyny are some of the ingredients in the manure out of which the seed of democracy sprouts. But once it breaks ground and reaches the sun, the power of altruism causes it to flourish.
“Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.”
What if, for example, we believe the legend about Newton and the apple, who planted the tree that he sat under? Was it planted in an orchard? It could have been wild. Or did a gardener plant it along a well-worn path to provide shade? No one knows, and no one cares. Newton probably would have discovered gravity by another means if the tree hadn't been there, but that's not what happened.
He didn't know or intend to do it, but he changed human evolution by seeking shade in the tree's niche environment. The Colorful Prince intentionally places its members in a similar situation.
Like one who plants trees knowing that he will never sit in their shade, the goal of the Colorful Prince is to intentionally affect human evolution by modifying and enhancing the altruistic gene in humankind through culture and environmental design. The deplorable housing conditions of workers at the beginning of the modern movement weren’t its sole concern; altruism was also an important factor driving change. The same is true for the future.
