The Cultural Red Queen and the Cultural Red King

When cultural groups evolve, or adapt, at different rates, or more generally show asymmetric levels of reactivity towards each other, we can observe a cultural Red King effect. This occurs when a minority group ends up disadvantaged simply by virtue of their size. When a minority group interacts with a majority group, minority types meet out-group members much more often than majority types do by dint of the size differences between the groups. As a result the minority group will learn to interact with the majority more quickly, often leading to a bargaining disadvantage. As this chapter shows, the resulting effect is analogous to one that can occur between coevolving biological species. The chapter explores this effect and where it might matter to real-world bargaining. In addition, the chapter looks at the possibility of a cultural Red King in intersectional populations.