Mouse utopia article (I've read a few articles on this, but this links to a good, short summary)
Has anyone ever heard about this?
The experiment took place over 50 years ago, so definitely old news, but I only found out about it the other day (randomly clicking through to other links, as one does).
Essentially, the researchers created a giant mouse pen/cage with unlimited food and water supply. The space was large enough to hold up to 3,000 mice and 4 breeding pairs started things off. The result: "But what looked like rat utopias and mouse paradises at first quickly spiraled into out-of-control overcrowding, eventual population collapse and seemingly sinister behavior patterns."
The outcome of the experiment was used to argue against an over-populated world and how it could negatively impact human society. When the mice reached a "critical mass" population level of about 2,000 - their behavioural patterns degraded (less successful pregnancies, less mothering instincts in females, less interest in breeding at all, repetitive, neurotic behaviour, mice not knowing how to behave like mice, population collapse).
I wonder if there's another way to look at it, though. The mice weren't technically overcrowded, they chose to congregate around one feeding trough together, when others were available and not as crowded. Perhaps mouse instinct is to stick together, but that works against a normal pattern of behaviour when so many are in one place.
Other interpretations argue that the distribution of resources wasn't equal, as more aggressive mice guarded the food for themselves so there was a higher concentration of competition at other food troughs. These researchers extrapolate that humans would do better to focus on a fairer distribution of resources rather than creating more resources/wealth.
Others talked about boundaries and space: "Moral decay could arise “not from density, but from excessive social interaction,” Ramsden says. “Not all of Calhoun’s rats had gone berserk. Those who managed to control space led relatively normal lives.”"
It's interesting to try to apply the experiment results and observations onto modern society - are humans meant to live in densely populated urban areas? Would we be happier with fewer possessions, if this meant wealth was distributed evenly? Do we need a 'purpose' in our lives, some external force that pushes us to act (such as the need to obtain food and shelter) - and does modern life remove that impetus to our detriment?