Trapped in Our Own Past

Trapped in our own past
Millions of years of evolution have thought us the merits of belonging to a group. Group dynamics and solidarity have proved successful, and those of us who carry these types of genes have survived due to the benefits that such attributes have provided us.

In a hunter gatherer society, the simple fact of belonging to a group has made life less precarious, we have had a degree of protection from famine, attack, disease. The group was always there to provide for alternate source of food, protect us from external and possibly internal rivals, and if we got sick, we would be cared for long enough to be able to restart our regular activities once recovered from the disease.

The group moreover was a source of knowledge, we could learn from our elders, our peers, even our rivals. If an individual found a new source of fruit, game, or shelter, we could all benefit from it. If someone’s way of doing things was inefficient, the group would ignore his/her approach and thus vote to not change from their tried and true methods.

As humans having children required a great deal of time and effort to raise to maturity, the group provided not only a sheltered environment in which to raise the children, but a very efficient one as well. Not all women or elder children were required to take care of children. This provided a major advantage over the lone wolf type of living.

One other significant aspect of group dynamics was the ability to specialize. A good hunter would lead the hunt; a good strategist might be placed in charge of defending the territory. Someone with good observation skills and memory might be in charge of when to move the group from one hunting ground to another depending on the seasons. Someone with a good knowledge of plants might become the village shaman. Someone who knew where to dig for certain types of roots might become the group gatherer of edible plants. Someone with skills in the making of spears, clubs, and making of archery, might become the local arms maker. Someone with good ability to communicate visually might become the local trader with other groups. This in the end is the beginning of civilization. Without division of labour there would be very little need for civilization.

The individual in us was and is always looking for a group to belong to. It is part and parcel of who we are. It is the keystone of our success. It is so part of us, that we fail to realize the dynamics of the process.

Groups initially were very small. Related family groups were the initial groupings. As our ability to develop methods and technology to control large territories evolved, we grew into villages, somewhat mobile, but nonetheless villages.

With the arrival of domesticated animals and agriculture, the group gained a greater degree of stability and size, and we move from a village to something resembling a city.

Here things change, with the growth of the city, the familial lineage is broken; the tribal or ethnic lineage continues, but things get more impersonal. You may be from the same tribe, but if you are a farmer, you are much inferior to the soldiers. If you are the leader of the group, you may actually see yourself as being a member of a deity and not a member of the local tribe. You may be a member of a City, a Nation or an Empire; however you will have a highly defined role and a commensurate status within that entity. You are no longer seen as belonging to the same group and being one equal to all others, you are now viewed as a possession of the crown, ruler, or emperor. You are expected to make your contribution to the sovereign in some form of good or monetary fashion, and are expected to do as you are told, especially in times of external threats.

Over time, some type of justice system which has evolved from historical practices is codified and you have some recourse for injustices done you, especially by your peers. Injustices done to you by your superiors of course are a different matter. Nevertheless some type of justice system evolves, which over time becomes an expected minimum right. Empires come and go, but traditions remain, evolve, and become better defined.

With the arrival of large Empires, such as the Roman Empire, a codified law emerges. You have duties to the sovereign, but you also have rights. Again within your peer group there is a better chance of obtaining justice, across classes, the situation is more precarious.

We accept this evolution of justice as even in its incomplete, and discriminating form, it is superior to what might be attainable through means such as individual or tribal vengeance, not that these methods are fully given up. Over time as the justice system and the power of the state to dispense justice increases, the individual vendettas, one on one violence, or tribal skirmishes diminish. Even today in large parts of the world family reprisals for damage done to its members is still a common form of justice. In developed countries this type of justice is totally frowned upon, except during periods of civil unrest, riots, or civil wars; when this type of justice again surges to the fore and old grudges and settling of scores takes place. Of course the closer to a true and well functioning justice system the state approaches, the less the likelihood of this type of return to the “law of the Jungle”

With the expansion of commerce, the development of large urban areas and industrialization, the need for skilled traders and labourers increases; as the complexity of the society demands greater distribution of responsibility and authority, so the political leadership becomes more dispersed and the crown is forced to share power with the landed gentry and the capitalist class. We begin to see the development of limited monarchies, and outright democracies. Of course these types of political structures existed in the past in small numbers and in relatively small city states, or national groups. Now, large states have developed into functioning democracies. Within these democracies we get highly developed justice systems, where the state cannot intervene without cause with the protected freedom and individual rights of its members.

We now have a functioning state, that derives its power from the people, and whose purpose, nominally at least, is to serve the people and implement their wishes. Within the state, we could always get uprisings, civil wars, attempted coups, military revolts, as well as external invasions; however it is assumed that a functioning state with a functioning justice system, and an appropriate army to defend it against external threat, will survive and prosper. Segregation of duties, constitutional limitations to political office, and individual civilian vigilance is expected to keep the state functioning and evolving over time.

The model of the state, in theory at least, could be applied to the citizens of the planet. We have a functioning global economy with a transportation and communication system that rivals any fully integrated National State from the past. We have a literate and knowledgeable electorate that rivals any from the past. We have a desire for freedom, democracy, and constitutional limitation to rival any past republic. Yet, we maintain that eliminating National borders and creating some form of Global government apparatus would be akin to sleeping with the Devil himself.

We are told that we cannot trust other ethnic groups; yet the United States is a model of the ability of many groups to live together and prosper. We are told that we are different, superior, to other Nations; yet we now accept Chinese, Japanese, and Indians (from India) as our equals. We are told that our cultural and religious beliefs are not compatible with others; yet we claim to live in secular, multi ethnic, multi religious, multi lingual states, for example Canada, or even India.

There are economic advantages that we currently enjoy that we would have to give up or share more evenly with others. These and the historical misconceptions that have been fed us over the ages have created mistrust, and reticence to proceed to wider unions.

We may have advantages in being isolated, but we also have significant disadvantages. We have to keep standing armies, we may face nuclear annihilation, we are unable to resolve serious global economic, environmental, and sustainability issues.

We still believe in power politics. We have given them up for a more just society within the state, but are unwilling or unable to do so, on a broader basis.

This is the crux of this blog. What are our options, and why are we so reluctant to change


To be continued.