From Egalitarianism to Kleptocracy

I considered adding Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies to my list of books on Globalism, but decided against it for now.

Instead, I’ll just share a tidbit from Chapter 14: "From Egalitarianism to Kelptocracy," regarding what Diamond called “the dilemma fundamental to all centrally governed, nonegalitarian socieities.” I find Diamond's dilemma important to understanding the workings of today's world.

Snippets:

At best, [centrally governed societies] do good by providing expensive services impossible to contract for on an individual basis. At worst, they function unabashedly as kelptrocracies, transferring net wealth form commoners to upper classes. These noble and selfish functions are inextricably linked…. The difference between a kleptocrat and a wise statesman, between a robber baron and a public benefactor, is merely one of degree: a matter of just how large a percentage of the tribute extracted from producers is retained by the elite, and how much the commoners like the public uses to which the redistributed tribute is put. …

What should an elite do to gain popular support while still maintaining a more comfortable lifestyle than commoners? Kleptocrats throughout the ages have resorted to a mixture of four solutions:

1. Disarm the populace, and arm the elite. That’s much easier in these days of high-tech weaponry, produced only in industrial plants and easily monopolized by an elite, than in ancient times of spears and clubs easily made at home. ... {Iverson note: Diamond may not be correct that it is “easier these days.” Consider the case of the so-called “Wars on terrorism.” Both centralized and networked power-bases gain relatively easy access to industrial-grade weaponry. Both indulge in different forms of terrorism.}

2. Make the masses happy by redistributing much of the tribute received, in popular ways. …

3. Use the monopoly of force to promote happiness, by maintaining public order and curbing violence. …

4. … [C]onstruct an ideology or religion justifying kleptocracy. … When supernatural beliefs [that serve to justify central authority, justify transfer of wealth, or maintain peace between unrelated individuals] became institutionalized, they were thereby transformed into what we term a religion. …

Besides the transfer of wealth to kleptocrats, institutionalized religion brings two other important benefits to centralized societies. First, shared ideology or religion helps solve the problem of how unrelated individuals are to live together without killing each other—by providing them with a bond not based on kinship. Second, it gives people a motive, other than genetic self-interest, for sacrificing their lives on behalf of others. At the cost of a few society members who die in battle as soldiers, the whole society becomes much more effective at conquering other societies or resisting attacks.

… [C]entralization of power inevitably opens the door—for those who hold the power, are privy to information, make the decisions, and redistribute the goods—to exploit the resulting opportunities to reward themselves and their relatives. To anyone familiar with any modern grouping of people, that’s obvious. As early societies developed, those acquiring centralized power gradually established themselves as an elite, perhaps originating as one of several formerly equal-ranked village-clans that became “more equal” than the others. (pp.276-288)

Comments

[Tom Stuart]

An interesting perspective on how these tendencies played out over time is offered by Robert Wright in his book, Non Zero - The Logic of Human Destiny.

[Dave Iverson]

Damn.. One more book to read, and likely one more to add to the list.. Thanks Tom.

Here's a hyperlink to follow for anyone looking for more on "NonZero,"
http://www.nonzero.org/reviews.htm