Nicholas Wade, in his most recent book the Origin of Politics, tries to use evolution to justify why a nation state based on ethnicity, language and religion is the best political structure for the United States and other nations around the world. He rejects the aspirational vision of the Enlightenment principles and values that were the basis for the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. In this commentary, we look at how Mr. Wade has deviated from the science of evolution into the ideology of national conservatism.