authors:
- Flannery, Kent V
- Marcus, Joyce
content: 'How did inequality arise? The question was famously raised by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. His answer was controversial, to say the least. He did not have much information
to base his analysis on, given that the discovery of humanity being a product of
Darwinian evolution was yet to be made. Although there was some information about
how hunter-gatherers lived in parts of the world that were being colonized by European
traders and settlers, it was fragmentary at best. The book "The Creation of Inequality"
by Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus does the hard work of summarizing the anthropological
and archaeological record to identify the stages and processes that transformed
human society from the large degree of equality that characterized nomadic hunter-gatherers
(ignoring gender inequality) before about 12,000 years ago. It is a monumental effort,
and the results give them the basis to provide some more facts-based answers to
Rousseau''s question.
Flannery and Marcus present short histories of a large number of societies based
on their reading of the available evidence. The focus is to identify markers that
give information about the level and type of inequality, political and social changes,
and the growth and decay of the societies. The examples range from the Pacific archipelagos,
the Central American jungles, the plains of Sumer, to the different Indian societies
on North America and more. It is a fascinating account of the diversity of human
societies, but there are also many recurring patterns. Flannery and Marcus analyze
these patterns in terms of changes of the social logic as a result of the interactions
between the natural, political, and spiritual environment with the inventions that
were needed to solve day-to-day problems. Several different societies went through
changes and stages that display many similarities, despite being far separated from
each other in time and space, and having no knowledge of each other. Independent
processes displaying similarities are good indicators that there must be some underlying
common propensities.
A theme that becomes clear is that one important step providing a foundation for
inequality was the formation of more or less permanent settlements. These did not
have to be based on agriculture; there are examples of hunter-gatherers that lived
in environments with sufficient resources for people to get by without having to
move around. This allowed the creation and accumulation private property. Another
theme is the forming of achievement-based hierarchies: Persons (men, usually) who
were successful gained prestige and could become chiefs, while less successful persons
became commoners or even slaves. However, the chiefs could not automatically pass
on their status to their children. That would require further social inventions.
The account is complex and wide-ranging. Each society or region is dealt with in
separate chapters. One important point is the difference between hereditary inequality
in its various shapes, and achievement-based inequality. One point they make is
that hereditary inequality can be inferred when the graves of children contain items
of luxury and symbols of power; since they could not have achieved this themselves,
it indicates that their status depends on inheritance. The historical record shows
that the move from achievement-based inequality to hereditary inequality is not
inevitable. However, the social logic works strongly in this direction given certain
environmental conditions. Formation of large-scale states are most often the result
of competition between neighboring chiefdoms.
I cannot vouch for the accuracy of their historical accounts. But the general approach
seems sensible, and they do point out when they regard the available data to be
insufficient for conclusions to be drawn. I do not get the impression that the authors
are trying to push an agenda through tendentious reporting. The book is rather long
since the authors cover many different societies, and at times it is hard to keep
up with the wealth of details. However, it is hard to see how it could have been
done differently without losing the concreteness that is the unique point of their
approach.
A question is posed in the final chapter: How can our current societies be made
more egalitarian? One response is: Put hunter-gatherers in charge. It is a provoking
thought. Exactly how this could be achieved is left unspecified. The authors do
not discuss our current Western societies in any depth. They are based on meritocracy,
rather than aristocracy and monarchy, at least notionally. This means that modern
societies have an ideological basis that implies greater political equality than
in the preceding historical era. But at the same time material inequality has increased.
How do we analyse the social logic that has produced this state of affairs, and
how do we want to change it? This book provides much food for thought about these
vital issues.'
date: '2023-11-04'
edition:
published: '2014'
publisher: Harvard University Press
goodreads: '21878142'
html: '<p>How did inequality arise? The question was famously raised by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau. His answer was controversial, to say the least. He did not have much information
to base his analysis on, given that the discovery of humanity being a product of
Darwinian evolution was yet to be made. Although there was some information about
how hunter-gatherers lived in parts of the world that were being colonized by European
traders and settlers, it was fragmentary at best. The book "The Creation of
Inequality" by Kent Flannery and Joyce Marcus does the hard work of summarizing
the anthropological and archaeological record to identify the stages and processes
that transformed human society from the large degree of equality that characterized
nomadic hunter-gatherers (ignoring gender inequality) before about 12,000 years
ago. It is a monumental effort, and the results give them the basis to provide some
more facts-based answers to Rousseau''s question.</p>
<p>Flannery and Marcus present short histories of a large number of societies based
on their reading of the available evidence. The focus is to identify markers that
give information about the level and type of inequality, political and social changes,
and the growth and decay of the societies. The examples range from the Pacific archipelagos,
the Central American jungles, the plains of Sumer, to the different Indian societies
on North America and more. It is a fascinating account of the diversity of human
societies, but there are also many recurring patterns. Flannery and Marcus analyze
these patterns in terms of changes of the social logic as a result of the interactions
between the natural, political, and spiritual environment with the inventions that
were needed to solve day-to-day problems. Several different societies went through
changes and stages that display many similarities, despite being far separated from
each other in time and space, and having no knowledge of each other. Independent
processes displaying similarities are good indicators that there must be some underlying
common propensities.</p>
<p>A theme that becomes clear is that one important step providing a foundation
for inequality was the formation of more or less permanent settlements. These did
not have to be based on agriculture; there are examples of hunter-gatherers that
lived in environments with sufficient resources for people to get by without having
to move around. This allowed the creation and accumulation private property. Another
theme is the forming of achievement-based hierarchies: Persons (men, usually) who
were successful gained prestige and could become chiefs, while less successful persons
became commoners or even slaves. However, the chiefs could not automatically pass
on their status to their children. That would require further social inventions.</p>
<p>The account is complex and wide-ranging. Each society or region is dealt with
in separate chapters. One important point is the difference between hereditary inequality
in its various shapes, and achievement-based inequality. One point they make is
that hereditary inequality can be inferred when the graves of children contain items
of luxury and symbols of power; since they could not have achieved this themselves,
it indicates that their status depends on inheritance. The historical record shows
that the move from achievement-based inequality to hereditary inequality is not
inevitable. However, the social logic works strongly in this direction given certain
environmental conditions. Formation of large-scale states are most often the result
of competition between neighboring chiefdoms.</p>
<p>I cannot vouch for the accuracy of their historical accounts. But the general
approach seems sensible, and they do point out when they regard the available data
to be insufficient for conclusions to be drawn. I do not get the impression that
the authors are trying to push an agenda through tendentious reporting. The book
is rather long since the authors cover many different societies, and at times it
is hard to keep up with the wealth of details. However, it is hard to see how it
could have been done differently without losing the concreteness that is the unique
point of their approach.</p>
<p>A question is posed in the final chapter: How can our current societies be made
more egalitarian? One response is: Put hunter-gatherers in charge. It is a provoking
thought. Exactly how this could be achieved is left unspecified. The authors do
not discuss our current Western societies in any depth. They are based on meritocracy,
rather than aristocracy and monarchy, at least notionally. This means that modern
societies have an ideological basis that implies greater political equality than
in the preceding historical era. But at the same time material inequality has increased.
How do we analyse the social logic that has produced this state of affairs, and
how do we want to change it? This book provides much food for thought about these
vital issues.</p>
'
isbn: '9780674416772'
language: en
lastmod: '2023-11-04'
path: /library/flannery-2012.html
published: '2012'
rating: 3
reference: Flannery 2012
reviewed: '2023-11-04'
subjects:
- history
- human-evolution
- political-philosophy
title: 'The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for
Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire'
type: book
year: 2012