The economic theory of Adam Smith following David Hume in which free trade leads to the best possible results has some similarity to eugenetic Darwinism where natural selection always leads to the improvement of the species, aside from extinctions. The history of population studies from Grinnell (1917), Lotka (1920), Volterra (1926) and Gause (1934) to the present is dominated by notions of competition. Hawk & dove, Didinium & Paramecium (Luckinbill; Ecology, 1973, 54: 1320-1327) and fox & rabbit are great examples of such game theory predictions.

Unfortunately, they do not relate directly to aging, because the one player--man--has no opponent, although male vs female can relate in a game. How does reproduction (fertility) correlate with longevity (mortality)? Of course, most women over 50 are outside the reproductive age. Then suppose reproduction has no effect on longevity. obviously still contraversial.

Survival and longevity remain to be convincingly compared. For instance, less food may result in increased longevity, yet this is influenced by the prevalence of infectious diseases, aside from the effects of poverty. Many possible correlations are lacking the empirical data for proofs. Simple routine quality control using loss functions and ANOVA should be promoted in anthropometrics.

For life expectancy data, see http://worldbank.org/data and read the CIA World Factbook 2005 http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook