The evolution of sustainability ideas in China from 1949 to 2015,
quantified by culturomics
Abstract
Previous cultural evolutionary analyses have used neutral models as null
models to distinguish between the unbiased copying and the biased
transmission of cultural traits. Here, we define economic and ecological
concepts as cultural traits that constitute a complex system
representing sustainability ideas. We analyse the frequency
distribution, turnover and innovation rates of 3,713 concepts appearing
in China’s mainstream newspaper, People’s Daily, from 1946 to 2015.
Results reveal that (1) economic concepts show a stronger tendency
towards random copying than ecological concepts; (2) popular economic
ideas experience anti-conformist bias, while ecological ideas experience
conformist bias; (3) the differences in popular concept variability
indicate that cultural drifts are stronger in disciplinary domains than
in cross-disciplinary domains; and (4) the frequency change in popular
sustainability ideas also suggests positive selection due to political
strategy and governmental behaviour. The study can promote vibrant and
resilient ecological knowledge to foster sustainability activities and
behaviours.