Punctuated equilibrium Theory O
Punctuated Equilibrium Theory Of Evolution
I recently came across the following quote by Leon Trotsky (Marxist and follower of Lenin) concerning Darwinism and evolution.
It is particularly eye opening since several advocates of the ‘punctuated equilibrium’ theory of evolution are avowed Marxists!
These advocates include Steven Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin. Note particularly Trotsky’s use of ‘equilibrium’ in this passage.
“The Darwinian theory of the origin of species encompasses the entire span of development of the plant and animal kingdoms. The struggle for survival and the processes of natural and sexual selection proceed continously and uninterruptedly. But if one could observe these processes with ample time at one’s disposal–a millennium, say, as the smallest unit of measure–one would undoubtedly discover with one’s own eyes that there are long ages of relative equilibrium in the world of living things, when the laws of selection operate almost imperceptibly, and the different species remain relatively stable, seeming the very embodiment of Plato’s ideal types.
But there are also ages when the equilibrium between plants, animals, and their geophysical environment is disrupted, epochs of geobiological crisis, when the laws of natural selection come to the fore in all their ferocity, and evolution passes over the corpses of entire plant and animal species. On this gigantic scale Darwinian theory stands out above all as the theory of critical epochs in plant and animal development.” Originally from: Portraits, Personal and Political by Leon Trotsky. George Breitman and George Saunders, eds. New York : Pathfinder Press, 1977.
These quotes were originally written in 1919 but not published until 1922. Now compare Trotsky’s view with that of Stephen Jay Gould!
“Eldredge and I refer to this scheme as the model of punctuated equilibria. Lineages change little during most of their history, but events of rapid speciation occasionally punctuate this tranquility.” “The process may take hundreds, even thousands of years; you might see nothing if you stared at speciating bees on a tree for your entire lifetime. But a thousand years is a tiny fraction of one percent of the average duration for most fossil invertebrate species…”
“Eldredge and I were fascinated to learn that many Russian paleontologists support a model similiar to our punctuated equilibria.”
From: The Panda’s Thumb. New York : W.W. Norton, 1982. In: “The Episodic Nature of Evolutionary Change,” p. 184-185. Originally published in ‘Natural History’ magazine.