ABSTRACT
What can behaviorism tell us about the way society works? Does it urge us to change society, and in what ways? Behaviorism has always been concerned with how organisms learn through reinforcement. The Darwinian metaphor has expanded our understanding of reinforcement beyond selection alone. Behavioral variation and the effects of context must also be taken into account. I have discussed elsewhere fi nancial markets, which are fi ercely driven by large reinforcements and punishments. 1 The last fi ve chapters of this book show how reinforcement, and the context in which it occurs, affects three other functions of society: law and punishment, health care, and education. I begin with law and punishment.
