ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a theory of the emergence of cooperative social institutions. It discusses a set of historical initial conditions that might have led to the emergence of highly effective cooperative social institutions in Japan and nowhere else in the world. The chapter begins with a brief discussion of cooperative social institutions. It attempts to explain the emergence of cooperative social institutions without assuming the existence of political leaders. In order to explain the spontaneous emergence of cooperative social institutions, we must begin with the state of nature. We now apply the general theory of the emergence of cooperative social institutions to explain why Japan has the unique institutions that foster dependence and visibility of group members. A general theory of the emergence of cooperative social institutions by drawing on the new theory of multilevel selection. The chapter then explains why Japan might have some of the most cooperative social institutions in the world.
