Ridley surveys the current state of research on the evolutionary origins of cooperation, altruism, obligation, and other social behaviors and emotions.
It is an excellent overview and Ridley makes a great case that much of what we view as social and cultural necessarily has its roots in human instinctual behavior.
In the last chapter, Ridley strikes out on his own and, based on what he has presented, makes a call for smaller government with power ‘devolved’ to local groups that are tied together by trade. He does not attempt to explain how that might be achieved.