When it says men in the headline, it means men in the sense of humanity in general, and not at all male beings of the human species. Otherwise, one might think that I mean the following considerations do not apply to female beings. But they do. The fact is that it sounds much better when one says 'about bees and men' than when one says 'bees and humans.' And besides, it's not just bees we're talking about here, it's also ants, termites, and other creatures that live in the same way.

Bees live in colonies. In beehives when they are 'tame' or in hollow tree trunks or wherever else they find it suitable to exist. A bee can hardly be said to possess much intelligence. From birth, it is intended for specific tasks. Some are guards and ensure that intruders do not enter. Some take care of the young and feed them, some act as living ventilation systems and fan air through the hive when it is hot, or just vibrate their wings to generate heat when it is cold. Some go out to collect honey and pollen. Some are heaters for the queen. The queen, yes. The queen eats and gives birth. That is what queen bees do. And then she controls the other bees by emitting scents.

When looking at bees individually, one can probably detect a certain intelligence. However, most of their behavior is genetically programmed and dictated by the demands of the colony or the queen. One could say they are hardwired and remotely controlled. It is different when looking at the colony as a whole, as a single organism. In a bee colony, most, often all, worker bees are daughters of the queen. Like cells in the body, they are centrally controlled by chemical stimuli. In the body, these are called hormones, but in bees, we call them pheromones. Just like brain cells communicate with each other through synapses, bees also communicate with each other. Brain cells exchange information through chemicals and electrical signals, bees exchange information with each other through scents and through dancing and tail-wagging. When a bee returns home with full loads of nectar, it performs a small dance, and with the direction of the dance and a slight wag of its tail, it tells the other bees which way to go to find good nectar. One might argue that the intelligence of the colony is greater than the sum of its individual members.

Humans may be the animal on Earth with the highest individual intelligence. We do not know for sure; we just believe it. For we have no real way to measure intelligence. It is true, however, that some claim that human intelligence was at its peak around 10,000 years ago and that it is now declining. Sometimes it can be easy to believe that. But what is more important is that humanity as a whole does not act intelligently. We prefer to use our abilities to acquire goods at the expense of others. In the extreme, we kill to live the good life as we wish. We do this surprisingly easily. In fact, we are often willing to go to war and kill simply because someone believes in different stories than we do. We are not capable of using our collective intelligence, if it exists, for the benefit of all humanity. Just look at the issue of climate change. We have long known that our extraction of the Earth's energy resources is not sustainable.

Throughout Earth's history, there have been several mass extinctions. Some global, some more local. A common factor for most of them is that they have been linked to climate change. Insects have had their heyday on Earth. So have reptiles and mammals. Which group is next in line? Is it the insects again? Perhaps the mollusks? Could we witness intelligent shells and literary snails? Philosophical octopuses. Octopuses are already considered highly intelligent, despite lacking a central nervous system. Or is it the machines that will take over? This was a popular theme in the Science Fiction genre in the 1960s and 70s. A superorganism of interconnected computers that secured dominion over the world and kept humans as slaves. Theoretically, this is not impossible. It might even have already happened. For aren't we, to a large extent, good slaves to our machines? Many of us are lost and dysfunctional and fall into a vegetative state the moment the phone is out of battery. If we are to have even the slightest hope of surviving, we must strive to develop a collective intelligence. We simply must become more like the bees.

It may seem as if collective and individual intelligence are in opposition to each other. If one looks at political systems, capitalism is probably the one that best fits high individual intelligence. Everyone can work to acquire benefits. There is minimal regulation and restrictions. It is good for the intelligent and the ruthless, but it is not good for humanity. To avoid stagnation, such a system is based on continuous growth. It becomes like a pyramid scheme. Some profit, but many lose when it collapses. The other extreme is communism. A centrally controlled regime where everyone works according to a plan that is for the benefit of all. In principle, that doesn't sound so bad, but there are problems. Who should decide the plan? How should the consideration for individual people be ensured? What if someone disagrees with the plan and refuses to follow it? We have also seen the phenomenon that power corrupts. The person or people who were supposed to decide and administer such a plan would have infinite power! Socialism is in many ways a middle ground between these. There is a majority that makes the plans and administers them. Limitations are placed on the individual, but there is still considerable freedom. This system is not without problems either. When the Athenians talked about democracy, they meant real democracy. Everyone showed up and discussed the matter, and decisions were made about what should be done. For practical reasons, this is no longer possible. We elect representatives to make decisions on our behalf. But are we sure that these representatives truly represent those who elected them? Are we sure that the representatives are informed enough to make the right choices? And not least, are we informed enough to choose the right representatives? This becomes difficult. Perhaps we need a supercomputer to take over?

All of this can also be viewed on a larger scale. Nations, not individuals. As long as all nations are only concerned with improving their own conditions, usually at the expense of someone else's, it is contrary to the common good of humanity. In reality, we do not have much hope. If only we were a bee. With a completely different view of existence and not least a different perspective on eternity.

But maybe there is still a small glimmer of hope? A Swedish little girl who manages to make the world listen? Let's hope so. Because there is one thing we humans are very good at, and that is hoping!