Conference Agenda

This paper presents an evolutionary game-theoretic model to explore the transition of human economies between non-symbiotic and symbiotic regimes, driven by the level of renewable natural resource availability. Drawing analogies to biological ecosystems, we formalize a threshold-driven function that triggers regime shifts when resource stocks dip below a critical limit. Through replicator dynamics grounded in the Price equation, our results show that, in a non-symbiotic regime, populations move from competitive to predatory behaviors, overshooting the planet's regenerative capacity. Conversely, a symbiotic regime promotes cooperation and resource-sharing, thus reducing the risk of ecological collapse. Simulations indicate that a predator-dominated world would necessitate approximately 2.30 Earths to sustain its consumption patterns. In contrast, a mutually cooperative world could be sustained with 0.99 Earths, provided that there is a full density of mutualists, a reduction in resource depletion intensity, and an increased sensitivity to resource scarcity. The findings highlight how strategic choices shape ecological footprints, offering pathways for policy interventions to encourage collective solutions and minimize exploitation pressures.