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The Parable of the Tribes : The Problem of Power in Social Evolution
Why has civilization developed the way it has? Many of us have assumed that human beings have freely chosen the way that civilization will evolve and that social evolution has consequently been a story of improvement and progress. But if that is so, why has the course of human history been so tormented? Why have the enormous changes that civilization has wrought in human life over the last ten millenia not been better designed to meet human needs? And why is the world so beset by alienation, tyranny, and destruction? The parable of the tribes is a theory of social evolution that offers answers in these and myriad related questions. By looking at human destiny within the broader contest of the story of life on earth, Andrew Bard Schmookler provides a unique, often unsettling perspective on the dilemma of the civilized animal. The parable of the tribes explains that as people stepped across the threshold of civilization, they stumbled into a chaos that had never existed before. When human beings became the first creatures to invent their own way of life, their societies appeared to became the first creatures to invent their own way of life, their societies appeared to become free to develop as people might wish. But what may be freedom for any single society adds up to anarchy in the interacting system of societies. In this anarchy - unprecedented in the evolution of living systems - civilized societies were condemned to engage in a struggle for power. Among the cultural possibilities human creation developed, only the ways of power could survive and spread. and the earth became a place where no one is free to choose peace, but anyone can impose upon all the necessity for power. Schmookler's theory about the role of the selection for power in social evolution is compelling in its logic and far reaching in its ramifications, By diagnosing the ills of civilization, the parable of the tribes clarifies the challenges that civilized people face ---book's dustjacket excerpt
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
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March 23, 2015
Once upon a time, I was on an internet mailing list that jabbered about “saving the world.” Industrial civilization was hammering the planet. What should we do? Some advocated dropping out and creating self-sufficient eco-villages. Others thought that industrial civilization had to be smashed first, because nothing would be safe until then. A philosopher from Florida persistently asked: “How can we expect to stop them by emulating those that have been destroyed?” His question was not easy to dismiss, and it made the pacifists squirm.
Andrew Bard Schmookler’s book, The Parable of the Tribes, takes a long hard look at the problem of power and exploitation. Schmookler believed that wild humans enjoyed lives of wholeness and freedom that modern folks can barely imagine. In the good old days, human societies were stable, because our development was guided by genetic evolution, a slow-moving process. Nature provided our sustenance, and we took only what we needed. We were not in control of the world, nature was. Humans were just one member of the great family, and nothing more.
Slowly, very slowly, over the course of many generations, cultures began to emerge. Gradually, cultures passed more and more knowledge from one generation to the next, which improved our skills at exploiting nature. Eventually, our growing cleverness led us to attempt an escape from the control of nature, and its limits — an impossible goal in the long run, but we tried.
We moved away from the wild buffet, and began producing our own food, in abundant quantities. We cut down forests and replaced wild ecosystems with colonies of domesticated plants and animals. By doing this, we were able to temporarily extract far more energy from nature, and this moved us into the fast lane. The monstrosity that we were creating made us unstable, unpredictable, and dangerous.
Of course, more food always leads to more hungry mouths, and farming societies grew and grew. First, they expanded by swiping the lands of wild humans, and when they ran out of those lands, they had to make a choice. They could either limit their population, or they could conquer other farming societies. Well, the farmers were bloated with overconfidence. If they were powerful enough to escape from the limits of wild nature, then they were certainly powerful enough to swipe the lands of their lazy, stupid, sub-human neighbors. Fetch the war paint, lads!
In the struggle between growing societies, the process selected for power. Aggressive ruthless bullies were the most likely to come out on top. Eventually, this led to hierarchical society and civilization. Most humans were reduced to bondage, and legions of slaves built awesome monuments celebrating the gory glory of notorious bullies. Warfare became a popular pastime. For the first time, domination and control — power — was introduced into the world.
“Power” is a keyword in this book. It meant forcing your will against the will of another. Power provided the black magic juju for dancing to the beat of conquest and exploitation. It was a new form of energy on the planet. Wild people had no use for it, because they lived within nature, and all was well. Power was the mother of “civilization,” another disgusting profanity.
Schmookler wrote that this struggle between societies was rooted in “anarchy” — meaning a dangerous, uncontrollable, state of disorder. This confused me at first, because anarchy can also simply mean the absence of government. For almost all of human history, anarchy worked wonderfully well in isolated wild societies that were based on self-control, cooperation, sharing, and freedom. Wild societies were a normal functional component of the natural order; they had no need for rulers. Anarchy is not a four-letter word.
Our school systems teach a “commonsense” version of history that ignores almost everything that preceded civilization. It’s a mythical story of progress, in which highly intelligent humans made continuous advancements by deliberate choice, bringing us to the techno-utopia of modern times. Schmookler hates his myth because, in reality, civilization has generally done a poor job of meeting human needs, except for the elites — and it’s been a huge disaster for ecosystems.
Schmookler offered a very different story, which he called the parable of the tribes. He thought that as civilizations grew, they began to bump into each other, leading to conflict. One day, tribe A massacred tribe B and — shazaam! — power was introduced into the world, like the rat-infested ship that delivered the Black Death to Europe in 1347. When one society in a region began to utilize power, stability came to an end, replaced by treacherous anarchy. At this point, it became impossible to choose a life of peace. The only way to survive with a bully in the neighborhood was to become a bully too — only power can stop power.
The bottom line is that Schmookler foresees two possible outcomes for humankind: (1) mutual annihilation or (2) a global civilization that can unify humankind, and put an end to the struggle for power — a just world order guided by reason and values. To stop the never-ending conflicts between civilizations, the solution is to create the mother of all civilizations. It’s a surprising idea in a book that majors in tirelessly criticizing civilization from every conceivable angle.
“How can we expect to stop them by emulating those that have been destroyed?” Who is “them?” Would the mother of all civilizations be emulating Uruk, Babylon, and Timbuktu — proud civilizations destroyed long ago?
Schmookler does not recommend solving our problems by violent revolution, because revolutions have a reliable habit of replacing old tyrants with new ones — a bloody waste of energy. We’re so far from home that simple strategies are not enough. Utopia is not just a revolution away. Healing will take generations, and the disease will leave permanent scars.
Years ago, before I became politically correct, I used to cite Reese’s Law: “The always win.” It was so frustrating that the savages with the spears almost never massacred the white dudes with the smallpox, artillery, and machine guns. The beautiful wild folks who lived sustainably, and treated the land with respect and reverence, always got stomped by ecocidal maniacs. Where was the justice? Why did they have to die running?
Well, Schmookler gives us a model that makes our predicament comprehensible, and that’s what makes this book important. It delivers pieces missing from the great puzzle. Power just happened, by accident, and once it was born, nothing could stop it. So, humans aren’t evil. There’s no need to feel guilty about our ancestors’ boo-boos. We’ve inherited problems that have been growing for thousands of years. It feels better to understand this, but it doesn’t rinse away the bitter taste of tragedy and injustice.
His solution is a throwaway, because predicaments have no solutions (only problems can be solved). I think that there are many more than two possible outcomes. Mutual annihilation will remain a real risk. A benevolent global civilization is highly dubious on the grounds of human nature alone, but Peak Cheap Energy will render it impossible. Industrial civilization is in the beginning stages of collapse, and we are moving toward a future that is going to be local and muscle-powered. Current patterns of living and thinking will disintegrate. This will open the doors to many new possibilities, one of which is a return to sustainable living. As Schmookler says, “the future remains to be written.”
Today’s benediction comes from J. C. Smuts: “When I look at history, I am a pessimist… but when I look at prehistory, I am an optimist.” Amen!
Andrew Bard Schmookler’s book, The Parable of the Tribes, takes a long hard look at the problem of power and exploitation. Schmookler believed that wild humans enjoyed lives of wholeness and freedom that modern folks can barely imagine. In the good old days, human societies were stable, because our development was guided by genetic evolution, a slow-moving process. Nature provided our sustenance, and we took only what we needed. We were not in control of the world, nature was. Humans were just one member of the great family, and nothing more.
Slowly, very slowly, over the course of many generations, cultures began to emerge. Gradually, cultures passed more and more knowledge from one generation to the next, which improved our skills at exploiting nature. Eventually, our growing cleverness led us to attempt an escape from the control of nature, and its limits — an impossible goal in the long run, but we tried.
We moved away from the wild buffet, and began producing our own food, in abundant quantities. We cut down forests and replaced wild ecosystems with colonies of domesticated plants and animals. By doing this, we were able to temporarily extract far more energy from nature, and this moved us into the fast lane. The monstrosity that we were creating made us unstable, unpredictable, and dangerous.
Of course, more food always leads to more hungry mouths, and farming societies grew and grew. First, they expanded by swiping the lands of wild humans, and when they ran out of those lands, they had to make a choice. They could either limit their population, or they could conquer other farming societies. Well, the farmers were bloated with overconfidence. If they were powerful enough to escape from the limits of wild nature, then they were certainly powerful enough to swipe the lands of their lazy, stupid, sub-human neighbors. Fetch the war paint, lads!
In the struggle between growing societies, the process selected for power. Aggressive ruthless bullies were the most likely to come out on top. Eventually, this led to hierarchical society and civilization. Most humans were reduced to bondage, and legions of slaves built awesome monuments celebrating the gory glory of notorious bullies. Warfare became a popular pastime. For the first time, domination and control — power — was introduced into the world.
“Power” is a keyword in this book. It meant forcing your will against the will of another. Power provided the black magic juju for dancing to the beat of conquest and exploitation. It was a new form of energy on the planet. Wild people had no use for it, because they lived within nature, and all was well. Power was the mother of “civilization,” another disgusting profanity.
Schmookler wrote that this struggle between societies was rooted in “anarchy” — meaning a dangerous, uncontrollable, state of disorder. This confused me at first, because anarchy can also simply mean the absence of government. For almost all of human history, anarchy worked wonderfully well in isolated wild societies that were based on self-control, cooperation, sharing, and freedom. Wild societies were a normal functional component of the natural order; they had no need for rulers. Anarchy is not a four-letter word.
Our school systems teach a “commonsense” version of history that ignores almost everything that preceded civilization. It’s a mythical story of progress, in which highly intelligent humans made continuous advancements by deliberate choice, bringing us to the techno-utopia of modern times. Schmookler hates his myth because, in reality, civilization has generally done a poor job of meeting human needs, except for the elites — and it’s been a huge disaster for ecosystems.
Schmookler offered a very different story, which he called the parable of the tribes. He thought that as civilizations grew, they began to bump into each other, leading to conflict. One day, tribe A massacred tribe B and — shazaam! — power was introduced into the world, like the rat-infested ship that delivered the Black Death to Europe in 1347. When one society in a region began to utilize power, stability came to an end, replaced by treacherous anarchy. At this point, it became impossible to choose a life of peace. The only way to survive with a bully in the neighborhood was to become a bully too — only power can stop power.
The bottom line is that Schmookler foresees two possible outcomes for humankind: (1) mutual annihilation or (2) a global civilization that can unify humankind, and put an end to the struggle for power — a just world order guided by reason and values. To stop the never-ending conflicts between civilizations, the solution is to create the mother of all civilizations. It’s a surprising idea in a book that majors in tirelessly criticizing civilization from every conceivable angle.
“How can we expect to stop them by emulating those that have been destroyed?” Who is “them?” Would the mother of all civilizations be emulating Uruk, Babylon, and Timbuktu — proud civilizations destroyed long ago?
Schmookler does not recommend solving our problems by violent revolution, because revolutions have a reliable habit of replacing old tyrants with new ones — a bloody waste of energy. We’re so far from home that simple strategies are not enough. Utopia is not just a revolution away. Healing will take generations, and the disease will leave permanent scars.
Years ago, before I became politically correct, I used to cite Reese’s Law: “The always win.” It was so frustrating that the savages with the spears almost never massacred the white dudes with the smallpox, artillery, and machine guns. The beautiful wild folks who lived sustainably, and treated the land with respect and reverence, always got stomped by ecocidal maniacs. Where was the justice? Why did they have to die running?
Well, Schmookler gives us a model that makes our predicament comprehensible, and that’s what makes this book important. It delivers pieces missing from the great puzzle. Power just happened, by accident, and once it was born, nothing could stop it. So, humans aren’t evil. There’s no need to feel guilty about our ancestors’ boo-boos. We’ve inherited problems that have been growing for thousands of years. It feels better to understand this, but it doesn’t rinse away the bitter taste of tragedy and injustice.
His solution is a throwaway, because predicaments have no solutions (only problems can be solved). I think that there are many more than two possible outcomes. Mutual annihilation will remain a real risk. A benevolent global civilization is highly dubious on the grounds of human nature alone, but Peak Cheap Energy will render it impossible. Industrial civilization is in the beginning stages of collapse, and we are moving toward a future that is going to be local and muscle-powered. Current patterns of living and thinking will disintegrate. This will open the doors to many new possibilities, one of which is a return to sustainable living. As Schmookler says, “the future remains to be written.”
Today’s benediction comes from J. C. Smuts: “When I look at history, I am a pessimist… but when I look at prehistory, I am an optimist.” Amen!
July 9, 2017
Crucial.
August 21, 2020
The most important book ever written on the topic of the inherent problems facing humankind. It explains the insidious role and destructive effects of power in civilization. It accuractly describes the way power thoroughly corrupts human life.
April 24, 2008
This book is a somewhat abridged version of the author's dissertation at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. It is a theory of the evolution of civilization using a very simple and effective heuristic. Schmookler's theory expains why, despite humans' capacity for rational choice, human society exhibits so many negative features which no sane person would ever choose freely. He explains that prior to the origin of the state, one "tribe" must have expanded beyond its ecological means, and conflict eventualy ensued when they found surrounding groups did not assent to this expansion. From this critical point on, Schmookler claims, the selection for power--not natural selection--will determine the course of social evolution, which has brought us to where we are today. The reason there is no other option for the non-expansionists is that they are presented with only four possible reponses, all of which perpetuate the selection for power: war, retreat, assimilation, and destruction.
Schmookler claims no credit for the "parable," citing anthropologists and sociologists who have recognized it before him. Unlike his predecessors, though, he spends his entire dissertation exploring the potential fields of influence into which the selection for power may extend, including national politics, economics, psychlogy, and international affairs. I found all of these analyses compelling, to varying degrees. His solution to the seemingly inescapable mire of civilization is unsatisfactory, however. He seems to buy into the claim that international democracy holds the key, despite its persistent failure to live up to its ideals. Apparently, the problem with civilization is that there's not enough yet! I think there may be an escape route he didn't mention that guerilla resistance movements have found out of the trap. Is it possible to wage effective war without perpetuating power, to remain decentralized using methods of guerilla warfare that we have seen in Vietnam, Iraq, and national liberation movements in Africa and Latin America? This may turn out to be a pipe dream just as liberal democracy has proven to be. In any case, Schmookler has described in detail what we're up against if we desire to influence the course of human society in any way besides that of the greatest concentration of power.
Schmookler claims no credit for the "parable," citing anthropologists and sociologists who have recognized it before him. Unlike his predecessors, though, he spends his entire dissertation exploring the potential fields of influence into which the selection for power may extend, including national politics, economics, psychlogy, and international affairs. I found all of these analyses compelling, to varying degrees. His solution to the seemingly inescapable mire of civilization is unsatisfactory, however. He seems to buy into the claim that international democracy holds the key, despite its persistent failure to live up to its ideals. Apparently, the problem with civilization is that there's not enough yet! I think there may be an escape route he didn't mention that guerilla resistance movements have found out of the trap. Is it possible to wage effective war without perpetuating power, to remain decentralized using methods of guerilla warfare that we have seen in Vietnam, Iraq, and national liberation movements in Africa and Latin America? This may turn out to be a pipe dream just as liberal democracy has proven to be. In any case, Schmookler has described in detail what we're up against if we desire to influence the course of human society in any way besides that of the greatest concentration of power.
December 31, 2024
This is an okay book. It is another assigned reading from my graduate school days. Essentially it provides a description of why wars and conflict are a part of the human condition. Its core argument is quite compelling: like baboons and other herd/pack animals, human's are innately hierarchical. And like baboons, when humans are taken out of their social element and placed in situations for which they lack a social context, they engage in behaviors which are typified by aggression and the re-establishment of hierarchy. Social chaos ensues until hierarchy can be re-established, though in a culture in which social context is always unstable, the culture will always revert to violence. I recall I had some basic questions regarding some of his premises at the time, though for the life of me I can't recall what they are right now. And as I write this summary, his argument must have sunk in, because I don't see much wrong with my summary at least.
January 16, 2012
This book changed my life! It is very important for everyone to get the point that Dr. Schmookler made. Until We The People decide unanimously how to deal with the greedy evil people who always try to rape, rob and kill the rest of the gentle peace loving people - were are never going to get anywhere with any of our reforms. We have to deal with them in a way that prevents them completely from continuing their plan. Otherwise we will be killed as all others who try to stop them are! Resistance is futile!
September 18, 2007
An excellent work focused on the distribution and dynamism of power within and across human societies. Schmookler also deals with the evolution of human organization, power politics, and progress (or lack of it, depending on how you read the author's views). Schmookler writes beautifully, which adds to the pleasure.
January 28, 2016
Dr. Schmookler's Parable of the Tribes is probably the best single book I've ever read. It is profound in so many ways. Invest the time and mental energy to read it; it will change your view of civilization and homo sapiens.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews