Cooperative Networks and Mythology
I am presently reading a book called Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, which explores the evolutionary and historical factors that have shaped human beings, modern civilization, and culture. One of the concepts he writes about is how myths and imagination have set sapiens apart as a species and greatly contributed to their success. Harari notes that humans are the only species that can communicate abstract ideas. This has led people to invent legends and stories to explain aspects of life they cannot comprehend. The capability to rally people around these shared beliefs is instrumental to allowing cooperation, law, and social order to flourish. Two such examples he explores are the Code of Hammurabi and the American Declaration of Independence. Both of these works rely on underlying assumptions and universally held truths. Communities subsequently hinge on people subscribing to these ideologies, lest the entire foundation of their society collapse.
This phenomenon reminded me of how the wisdom of crowds and information cascades function in networks. If one were to apply the economic implications of network effects to social ones, it is easy to draw a comparison between commerce and mythology. If someone thinks that a certain fraction of their population subscribes to a certain belief, it is in their best interest to believe it too because they will be able to participate in their society and receive the benefits a law-abiding citizen is entitled to (protection, roads, etc.). This is an example of a direct benefit effect. There could also be information effects at play here wherein people see their neighbors abiding by a certain ideology and then they will believe it is correct as well.
Sources:
Yuval Noah Harari. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. Harper (February 10, 2015)