CopyRight @ 1997
This is an initial write used as a place holder.... In other words
it's a really rough draft. Some of it is pretty old stuff and needs a
lot of updating.
This essay is a description of ecological features of human
existence. It describes institutions. In this book, institutions
are described as multi-generational behavioral patterns. They are
very important to human survival and exist because they are
solutions to ongoing human needs. They say much about humanity.
0. Introduction
1. types of institutions
a. by list
b. by function
Function, perpetuation, orgnization, (laws or as
create organization) by list
2. attributes of institutions
a. Organization
b. Perpetuation
c. As creates Organization
3. Law and Custom
Beliefs For Groups
Institutions and Organizational Methods
Humans have gotten where we are by cooperation, though
judging from observation, you might not think it possible.
Individual humans are far more interconnected than is the case
for any other specie. There is an ongoing balance between an
individual and their family, community and society. The last
chapter was to discuss the beliefs and strategies of individuals.
This chapter is to discuss the beliefs and strategies of groups.
This could be a family, community, society, religion, profession
or other group that has its own appropriate set of beliefs.
Beliefs for groups relate both to function of the group and how
to organize the group. Many of these sets of beliefs serve groups
that exist for many generations and even have provisions for self
perpetuation. Multi-generational behavioral patterns are refered
to as institutions. Some are beliefs about family and community.
Some of these beliefs refer to how we organize ourselves. These
are called politics and religion. Some beliefs are about our
resources. These are called economics and technology. All relate
back to morality and survival strategies.
1a Family/marriage community society tech/econ politic power
First then, is a look at what we consider institutions.
function
Lets start this out simple... if possible.
So what do humans need to survive? Food, clothing and
shelter is often presented as the answer to this question, but it
is certainly more complex than that. Those are simply some of the
physical needs of a human. there are other emotional and
spiritual needs. Those are discussed in later chapters. Here is a
discussion of how humans physically provide for their needs. This
discussion is formed around lists of institutions and occupations
as a way to show how human physical needs are fullfilled. They
also define much of what human needs are.
Institutions are considered here as multi-generational
behaviors. They usually arise in responce to human needs that go
on over generations.
Institutions
Humans live in groups called societies. A society is like an
organism in that it has functionally specialized parts. There are
certain functions that each society must address. Historically,
these problems can be described as related to family, community,
military, religion, science, politics and economics. No matter
who trys to solve the ongoing needs of the society, certain needs
of a society must be met for the continuation of the society.
Often the function of an institution includes creation of some
sort of social organization.
Looking at where we have come from, we can see that the
types and functions of institutions has grown. They are the
tools that humans use to survive and solve common problems. They
are organizational systems. They are belief systems for groups.
Institutions preserve the functions of the society that go on
from generation to generation. Early tribal humans had families,
communities, societies, leaders, shaman, healers and other
methods or tools of survival. Many problems are still the same
and many present solutions are very old. Correspondingly, there
is the educational aspect of each of these skills, so that the
institution is continued. Before writing, that would have been a
challenge.
Some questions must be asked about any institution. What is
the institution and what functions does it fulfill? How is it
organizatized. What organizational systems does it provide. How
does the institution grow and perpetuate itself?
The different types of institutions are more limited than
the number of functions that they fulfill. One simple list of
institutions could be a list of the different castes in the
classical stratified society:
1. Peasant Farmer to provide the basic food supply.
2. Craftsmen of many castes to provide buildings, tools and
other necessities or commercial products of the city.
3. Priesthood to preserve the integrity of their people and
their community. A priest is one who teaches morality. They
also fulfilled the more intellectual professions.
4. Scribes were the record keepers that supported much of the
organization of the society.
5. The military ruling class provided the focus of the
organization of the society. They also acted as the
defensive organ.
6. The soldier class. This class is described because it may be
be different from the the ruling class. Their leadership may
or may not come from the ruling class.
7. Criminal classes. Predators on human societies.
Another list is of institutions and organizational methods
could be based on what is observable. These would be education,
family, marriage, religion, society, science, technology, war,
law and economics. This list is based on the function of the
institution and so shows how functional roles of various
institutions have changed over time. Religion and politics are
institutions that organize the society.
A major class of institution of humans is the contract. The
concept of a binding agreement is how we base our complete social
structure. It would have been revolutionized by writing. It is
the basis of ownership and money. It allows cooperation and
organization.
A functional model of the family and society is useful,
because it describes requirements that may or may not change
between different ecologies. Study of these needs and changes in
past ecologies will suggest something about our future ecologies.
The needs fulfilled by the society and its components are not
going to fundamentally change much or more than necessary.
************
A. Functions of Family:
1. Basis of the reproductive unit.
2. Basis of the community which is in turn the basis of the
religion.
3. For raising, socializing and educating children.
4. Care of the elderly.
5. Marrying off the children
6. It is the economic unit.
7. It is to preserve the families wealth and especially,
status.
8. Care of the sick or injured.
A tribe or community is the group within which the
individual grows up in and marries into. Humans marry outside of
their families, but within their community. Communities or tribes
have always consisted of a few related, extended families.
B. Functions of the Community:
1. The tribe or the community is a reproductive unit.
2. Any community must preserves its common beliefs, techniques,
territory and survival strategy or moral system.
3. The society provides different forms of educational.
4. Provide any necessary defense against other communities.
5. Cooperative resource production.
A society must serve to provide form within which the
individuals and groups can interact to allow and enhance their
mutual survival. The stratified society had to provide more than
the tribal society. It must allow different tribes to live
together. The next social form will have to provide things that
the stratified society and the present society do not.
Development of advanced social forms is a problem in technique,
usually solved by institution or law. There is much carry over
from family, community and society.
C. Functions of Society:
1. Since the time of Sumeria, societies have had to allow
different peoples to live together in cities and nations. It had
to solve the problems posed by these different peoples living
together and use these differences to the advantage of the
components of the society. A basic point is that a society trys to
tolerate the various different moralities, values and beliefs of
its components.
2. It had to preserve the communities and the talents of each
community.
3. A society must be able to provide all of the basic needs of
its components.
4. The society provides a very advanced organizational form to
serve its components. This is based largely on economics and the
strategies of trade for survival needs.
5. A society leads to some or complete integration of its
components.
When examining institutions, consider that they were created
to fulfill a need of people. A characteristic of institutions
though, is that eventually a primary function of the institution
is self perpetuation. When self perpetuation becomes the primary
function of the institution, rather than the need for which they
were created, the people suffer. It is similar to the result of
nepotism.
A major class of institution of humans is the contract. The
concept of a binding agreement is how we base our complete social
structure. It would have been revolutionized by writing. It is
the basis of ownership and money. Most human institutions are
firmly rooted in some contract. A contract can only exist based
on communication. Most major cooperative achievements are
accomplished based on the agreements of a contract.
Cities and nations are the physical units of a society. The
corresponding functionaries of them are the civil service,
the economic structure and the military. These may be organized
under military, religious, economic or democratic political
control. Politics is for controlling the power of the society.
Power is the ability to act, accomplished by the civil
service, economic structure, military or population. Depending
on the society, any combination of these can exist. So the
civil service, economic structure, military or democratic
polity can control the power represented by civil service,
economic structure, military and people. Over time, it is always
a changing static structure as each group jockeys for the power.
It makes it sort of hard to describe, but it works this way and
so must be described as such. No matter which group holds what
power, each group has its basic organizational and occupational
function.
The military is based on the fact of violence. Whether it is
aggression or defense, it is extremely important to the society.
Many times it is the most important immediate facet of a
societies functioning. It is inherently limited, because its
creative potential is inherently limited as is its time frame.
Its organizational system is basically like neolithic tribes and
hunting parties.
Religions are based on the reproductive survival of the
society and its attendant moral knowledge, culture and families.
Religion gives identity to the society that promotes cooperation
by creating coehesiveness in the society. Religion is limited by
its inherent conservatism as well as its potential for being
corrupted.
Aside from religions function within the society, is
its function to create a similarity of beliefs that supports
a nations cohesiveness.
The economic structure of a society provides the resources
for the growth and reproduction of the society and families.
Historically, wealth was created by agricultural lands, minerals,
manufacturing and trade. Very often, money can be used for power.
The economic structure is limited by the difficulty and cost of
responding to military attack. The more relatively successful an
economic group is, the more they attract attack. Also,
historically, wealth has contributed to a conservatism or a moral
weakness that may eventually destroy the economic group.
A democratic system is based on the rule by agreements made
by large parts of the society. Its success is based on the wisdom
and will of the voting members of the society. Its greatest
advantage is the inherent weakness of systems that lead to
nepotism. Slowly the techniques of rule by democracy have been
developed. Politicking, voting, parliamentary procedure and law are
all techniques that allow democracy to work.
The civil service is the group, whoever controls it, that
builds and maintains the city. They collect taxes which support
the group in power.
All of these groups have their own internal politics as well.
######################################################
Religion
Religion is a name for many things at many times. It is
institutions of every description that have encompassed almost
every function. Religion is a basic institution in that it was
just about the only institution for primitive humans, perhaps to
the time of the military conquest of Sumeria. All advanced
techniques were called magic and were in the care of the tribal
shaman or priest. Study of institution and function could
proceed from an early time when most institution was part of
religion. Sometimes a society may be such that all institutions
are part of the religion. Usually though, the military and often
much of the economic sector, is somewhat independent of the
religious authority. In any case, an understanding of these
functions, or needs, and how they are fulfilled by different
institutions, will offer a very descriptive picture of humans.
In this particular case, much discussion of religion as the
power structure is omitted, because that is a different function
that is considered elsewhere as the power structure. It is not
inherent to religion.
Historic Functions of Religion.
1. Religion is about family, community, birth, growth,
marriage, death and custom. Its basic function is to preserve the
community, by preserving the habits, customs and beliefs that are
the moral values that have preserved the community. Religion, in
its best forms, helps the community adapt to necessary or
beneficial changes.
2. Wardenship of the reproductive habits of the community.
That includes marriage law, prevention of incest, social customs
and rituals.
3. They protect the common teachings and beliefs that provides
for both the survival and cohesiveness of the group.
4. Explanation of the natural world.
5. Astronomy and calendar keeping so as to be able to say when to
plant.
6. They teach faith, offer solace and provide hope.
7. When a family of the community is having problems, the
church provides what help is available. This is partly for self
preservation, but more it is simply one of the main functions of
a religion. It is a bit like a life insurance strategy. Religion
must function when some other necessary part of the society or
family fails.
8. They set the stage that allows different peoples to merge,
by promoting the merging of their religions. It then promotes
that they treat each other as if they were all the same tribe.
The importance of this cannot be over estimated, especially when
observing ethnic bickering. In the west, Christianity gave a
mutual identity that went beyond all borders.
9. Religions deal with concepts of gods or supreme beings. In
occidental tradition this is the patriarchal Judeo-Christian God.
It is important for humans to believe in values greater than
themselves. It is part of the glue of society. In ecological
terms there are advantages and almost no liabilities to belief in
god. One disadvantage is that conservative religious beliefs may
conflict with new knowledge and ideas that are developed. It may
be believed that science and technology can be an expression of
god, as is felt, by many, about art and music. Who knows how
people or religions will represent their understanding of god? It
could take many forms including concepts of specie identity or
respect for the total biosphere that gives us our life.
10. Religion was or is a major part of the power structure that
is the basis of the organizational system that we use to operate
our society. Bad organization is almost always better than no
organization.
Considering the importance of learned behaviors and moral
training, it may be that one of the most important functions of
religion is to give authority to the parent as a teacher.
Here, religion will be described as it relates to god and to
families.
Family
Fundamentally, religion is for support of the family and
community. It accomplishes this by conserving and teaching
survival techniques that are referred to as moralities. This
teaching is done by individuals of many names, but here they are
referred to as priests. In the time of the tribes, long before the
development of what we think of as religion, the shaman or
magician was an important member and function of the tribe.
More generally, a priest is a person that helps their people
survive. A parent is a priest to their family. Due to what the
problems of human survival are, it could be said with some
accuracy that the priest takes the responsibility of trying to
save people from themselves, by conserving and teaching the
lessons of the past that the "people" have learned. As in many
cases, technique is more important to humans than just a physical
adaptation. Culture, includiny moralities, is such a complex
part of life that it must be taught.
Over time, wise leaders have described the consequences of
greed, dishonesty, sloth, excess and other common mistakes. They
have also described the importance of perseverance, honesty,
fidelity, respect, endurance, loyalty as well as the other
survival strategies that humans have encountered.
Because many of the things that humans value the most,
such as land, artifacts and money, can be taken by theft or
conquest, most of morality that is not about family is about
material ownership.
The core of morality relates to marriage and raising of
children.
f All through society are redundant systems to compensate if
another vital aspect of the society fails. It reflects the degree
of complexity and problems of the society. It is easy for some
function of the society to fail and require adjustment. Society
or religion can replace what the family failed to teach about the
moral lessons that perpetuate the community and society. If the
political leadership fails in some point of organization or
credibility, religious organizations can provide a focal point.
In emergencies or because of choice, religions can take on many
other functions as well, so this tries to focus not on what they
can do, but what they must do.
At the time of the tribe, the main function of what would be
called religion, was to regulate marriage so as to prevent the
hazards of too much inbreeding. Moral laws against incest were
formulated as taboos. What was considered incest was variable. It
might have been considered brother sister unions or it might have
extended to cousins of various degrees. Taboos would also have
regulated meetings with other tribes.
In the stratified society, the tribes lived adjacently, so
the function of religion, of regulating marriage between tribes,
became more important. It is referred to as balanced endogamy
exogamy. It means that one marries outside their family, but
within their group.
It was said that one of the major functions of religion is
to preserve the lessons and habits of the past. It is a function
of religion to be conservative. This can lead to characteristic
results. One better known result of religious conservatism is
fundamentalism. Depending on circumstances, that can endanger or
preserve a people. One consequence is the creation of an inbred
core that is even more conservative as some of the more liberal
components are lost to other populations. At the same time, the
core group survives within a single successful niche and preserve
their ancestral way of life.
As long as the world does not drastically change, it is
safest to be conservative. If the world does change, so must
people, but they will only succeed if they preserve their past.
Sometimes religion, like other institutions, may forget that
their function is more important than their cherished beliefs or
even existence. They can then become a hazard to the people they
are supposed to serve.
Religion,like other institutions, is a tool. It can be a
crutch when an individual, family or society needs it, but it
is more often like shoes. After the initial minor discomfort, you
do not even notice it and it can make the traveling easier,
especially if the going gets rough.
Religion serves people. It can do little for god.
##########################
God
When discussing religion, one must discuss god.
The first gods would have been the gods of the hunt, female
fertility, weather, disease, war and the immediate happenings and
problems that were beyond the understanding and control of early
tribal peoples.
Present occidental tradition includes the patriarchal God
of the Hebrews. The Christian religions include Jesus, the son of
God, and The Holy Spirit who pervades all of existence. It is an
extremely masculine tradition reflecting the extremely masculine
rule and values of survival during the time of the cities and
warfare. The patriarchal God was basically a god of war and
replaced what were mostly gods of female fertility and crop
success. Just as religious philosophies responded to the horrors
of iron age warfare, so did views of god, so Jesus represented
the creative values of peace and endurance in the face of
oppression. The Holy Spirit has represented the identity of the
people of the religion as well as the aspects of god that cannot
be personalized, such as universal presence.
Gods are causes and so inherently non-causal or non-caused.
For this reason, concepts of god are non-rational. As mentioned
earlier, much of human belief is non-rational. Non-rational
beliefs are held by faith - belief without rational proof.
Religions with concepts of god, are like a symbiotic disease
that humans are in the process of adapting too. The
personification and anthropomorphization of basic survival
concepts (moralities) of community and family produced an
incredibly strong response in the humans exposed to it. Part of
this is what is called faith. The morality of the concept could
overwhelm all other thought processes and produce fanaticism.
Even in a primitive form, used by humans unadapted to it,
religion was an overwhelmingly powerful force.
Religion is seductive and fulfilling. Religion is a
verbalized description of the instincts of survival. ##
Faith probably cannot be replaced by something rational.
Faith is a fundamental part of human drive. One can have
faith in country, self, a god, a religion, a leader or many other
things. Faith is to assign an importance to something. Until a
person places an importance on something, it is really not part
of their world. It is a matter of awareness or conciousness.
Other words might be used, such as belief or respect, but faith is
the behavior being described and it is a powerful behavior..
Faith is a little like love. It is a natural human behavior
that everyone experiences. Some things bring it out, but even the
loneliest person knows what it is to be loved. It can happen for
different reasons, all at once or after slow growth. It has many
meanings. It can bring happiness and fulfillment. We can desire
it without understanding the desire. It can grow, it strengthens
and it can be learned. Both love and faith are essential elements
of human survival and have a genetic basis that make them natural
to learn. It is how we are designed.
New data from twin studies suggest that faith is
inheritable. That begs just how common it is.
Humans require a balanced world concept for psychological
reasons. We require explanations. They do not have to be accurate,
only useful to the needs of the balance of psychology. Does it
matter if you know that an earthquake is a tectonic burp or
Poseidons sneeze? Knowing an explanation is what matters. The
human brain is a pattern recognition device. Anything that we
experience must be fit into the pattern somehow. Human
intelligence is primarily designed for understanding of other
humans. This is why we anthropomorphise or give human attributes
to things and events that are not human. It seems normal and
comfortable to give human attributes to the sea, the slopes, an
institution, a car, computer or pet. It is our method of
understanding. Often, it is projection.
So what is the source of faith? Humans require certain
forms of understanding around which to base their operating view
of the world. We use a concept of our self image when considering
how to deal with others. Our existence makes us presuppose a
creator associated with our creation. A balanced psychology produces
a respect for ones life and a corresponding reverence for its source.
Faith is a part of a balanced psychology and is necessary to full
health. Basically, faith represents ones feelings about existence.
The way we express this is to give these as human attributes of god.
So gods are given the personification of what we believe, value
and desire.
One appreciates the strength and understanding available to
a person who can use some human concept to acknowledge their
creation and existence. It helps orient their world and develop a
clear knowledge of their beliefs and values.
Religion creates, maintains and is based on historical and
fictional myths that provide a special identity to the people of
the religion, the basis for their moral system and an easily
understood personification of their beliefs and values. This is
the link between religion, god, society and family. Our instincts
make us adapted to a related tribal group. Religion identifies
along the same group lines, with amazing extensions.
Since the human needs existed before the institution and
because the development of concepts of god can be traced, present
concepts and attributes of god must be considered aspects of the
institutions survival and development.
Acceptance of the irrationalities of religion are a statement
of loyalty to the community or what else the religion represents.
Important and as it stands, valuable to the religious power
structure. That is one reason why the irrational aspects of
religion may not be a drawback.
g indiv
How do people react to religion? Most have the unquestioned
religion of youth. Not questioned, not rational. It illustrates
that we are designed not to question the teachings of our
childhood. Some people mature and their faith maintains their
religious views. Some people lose their religion and some have a
distinct hostility towards religion.. Do not even think it has
to do with rationality.
#########################################
f indiv
Psychologically, there are direct links between what a
person thinks of god and what they think of themselves. The same
is true about religion and family. Check out people that are
reactionary to religion. They had a problem with their family.
They take it out on the religion instead of getting mad at their
family. Interesting function. Usually it is that their family did
not teach or mis-taught the children. Religion is rarely ignored.
It is used or held in hostility.
g indiv
Spiritualism, is a normal part of existence. If a person
rejects it, they are probably going against their nature. That
would happen only in response to other things associated with it.
Those associations may be the corruption and greed of the power
structure as well as the hypocrisy of so many of the people that
profess faith in the religion. People like that need religion.
There is no other way that they will ever find any peace of mind.
indiv
The usual reason for the strong rejection of religion is
because the parents were blow its. They screwed up the job of
parenting and the childrens normal reaction is rejection of
religion and other values of the parents, rather than rejection
of the parents.
g
indiv
This sort is to remind us that we operate by more than
analysis. The rational analysis is nice, but it does not always
suggest a God or spirituality, but it does not preclude one from
feeling so.
g God as a function. Who created you? Well, Ma nature will
satisfy the mind. It's not as good as a supernatural
anthropomorphized super being, but it serves in a model. I think
that you will notice a rather natural response. As said,
reverence and spirituality are far older than religion. They just
built on natural inclinations.
society? *************************
f soc Take two cultures. One has religion, one does not. What
will happen in competition? Self righteousness is cheap and
powerful.
family or society. Of the moral lessons I examine, there are
traditional topics and a few new ones like drugs and political events.
Any can be taught by family, religion or society. They must be taught
by family. Are there any moral dangers so great as to be require
religion (and what it implies) in the future? Maybe. - Wealth, under
examination, looks to have potentials unbelievably dangerous to the
society... It must be considered necessary, but really not important..
In the mind, the statement that one loves God is the same as
the statement that one loves their family
### move to end..
In the stratified society, religion is primarily an
extension of the tribal form. Your tribe or people were defined
by who you knew and lived with. With people living together in
the cities, religion was necessary to keep the communities
together, but separate from other communities. They represented
castes that were occupational. The tradition and law was that son
shall follow father in occupation. Since one of the
major functions of religion has been support of the stratified
society, the transition to a post stratified social form will
cause great changes in what religion must serve.
## Their main function will become more focused on what it was
originally - perpetuation of the family and community or more
generally, regulation of human reproductive behavior by
definition of community. It seems odd that religions may find one
of their future functions, as in the past, is to keep track of
and promote genetic knowledge and technology. Ancestry is a basic
concept to all humans that keep records.
God is how a peoples survival is represented. The people and
their world are personified.
end As our society grew and increased in complexity, many
functions of religion grew large enough and specialized enough
that they became completely separate institutions. This is such
as science instead of religion explaining natural law.
Progressions like this that we can see, may suggest progressions
yet to come. Each function should be examined for how it was and
is provided. Using a list of functions and institutions based on
family, community, society and religion should provide a broad
enough context, that is also basic enough, to describe most of
human experience and need, no matter how it develops.
institut **************************
power structure Corruption
g Religions serve important purposes and inherently direct
and lead people. That is why they can attract corruption. Just
as wealth can draw the corrupt, so does the wealth and power of a
church. Perhaps the greatest danger though, is from those of good
intentions. So often people think they can help people by
running their lives for them. Often its true, but all too often
the kind of person that wants the power, will cause the greatest
harm. They have good intentions, illusions and an unquestionable
self righteousness. Plus, religions are about loyalty to the
community. The test of loyalty has become acceptance of the
church's god. It is an irrational action that is to serve a
rational purpose. Faith is not rational, loyalty is. This element
of irrationality is how a religious demagogue can manipulate a
congregation into beliefs or actions that they otherwise would
not accept. It is a little like the techniques of crime families
and intelligence organizations that trick a person into accepting
guilt for something they did not cause. The sense of guilt can
then be used to force the person to be an accomplice in the
commission of a real crime.
g??? There are aspects common to religion, like faith, that are
inherently non-rational. Religion is inherently based largely on
emotions as well. Many ##crimes, intentional and
unintentional have been commited in the name of religion. For
these and other reasons, many people react emotionally to any
discussion of religion or god. This is not the place for it.
g The power structure tailors the religion to serve people
that depend on it or can be subjugated by it, rather than those
that can use it. They steal or abuse the natural spirituality
that humans have and make the truly reverent, hide it.
g instit add before establishment
If religion seems bizzzarre, remember that what we see of it is
descended from the time of kings and warriors as well as plague,
starvation, fear, ignorance and lots of war. It is hard to say if
the church was responsible for the dark ages. It may have been
inevitable. Those times were so bad, and humanity so young, that any
fantasy of religion, especially heaven, hell and divine intervention
must be considered a reasonable response to the horror. Hope was a
simple factor of survival when faced with such adversity. It is the
wealth of our society that has freed us.
?? This is to describe the way it is rather than the way we
sometimes like it. This is knowledge that need not be kept at the
fore of the mind, yet sometimes it must be remembered. Humans
operate largely as groups. We rely on our leaders.
It is notable that humans generally have a great deal more
religious fervor than nationalistic sense. It would be worth
examining these differences along tribal lines.
religion has to do with keeping groups together and separate from
other groups. Many things could make this important, such as
disease or economics, but this is written in the context of a
fairly wealthy society based on technology
#############################################################
-- Technical institutions and Function Related to Energetics and Resources
Money.. and all attendant concepts.. are a bit like
religion. We are not fully adapted to either. Money is a
representation of the basic feature of the ecology called
resources. It is not real, but it is a concept that the mind can
catch onto like a god representing basic human survival. Money
can often represent resources, but there are some distinct
differences. Also, money must be examined in a few different time
frames and views.
E. Education
The best environment for learning an occupation is in a
family involved in that occupation. As the body of knowledge got
bigger and there became more specializations, there arose a need
for institutions beyond the family, for teaching, preserving and
developing technical occupations. The priesthood was the first of
these. As the need for technical education has grown, so have the
institutions and businesses that teach. Due to various factors,
occupational education no longer is passed on in the family. The
importance of occupational education by the family, in the
future, will depend on the genetic nature of the individual and
the society that is created.
####### Education
Education provides the learned techniques that are the basis
of the resource acquisition strategies of all human ecologys.
Extensive education is also necessary for an individuals social
and cultural development. In that education is the best
description of a large class of resource requirements necessary
for the intellectual and social development of an individual, its
importance cannot be overstated. Indeed it might be accurately
stated that in the new ecology, the primary industry would be
education.
The importance of education is so basic and yet so resource
demanding to provide, that if a technique for teaching that was
energetically cheaper were developed it would change many other
factors basic to human evolution.
It is hard to adequately describe the potential techniques
for education, especially using computer aids. It is necessary to
keep the objectives of education of any individual, in mind. It
must teach occupational, social and personal knowledge. This
knowledge comes from family, institutions, experience and
thought. Each part is an element of human development and
maturity. A human should know enough to do their occupation,
manage their life and position in society and to be able to do a
fair job of raising a family. In the future, new factors will
contribute to human ability to learn. We will have exceptional
teaching tools and learning opportunities. It is hard to say
either future demands of human potential or what learning
potentials that humans will be able to develop. It can be said
that our social and technical learning ability will continue to
be of paramount importance to our continued survival.
F. Food production.
Food production may seem mundane at times, when living in a
city in a technical society, but it is pretty basic. Food
availability has always been a major limiting factor an human
populations. Societies had to move when the land was farmed out.
When considering the nature of any particular genetic potential,
it must be remembered that the effects of malnutrition, during
development, are likely to be a significant factor. A civil
population requires a dependable source of high quality food.
This depended on both the skill of the farmer and the
domesticated crops and livestock available. Since the time of
Sumeria there has been a caste and racial difference between the
civil population and the farmers that provided their food. The
farmers were called peasants. The farmers were descended from
various groups including neolithic farmers and later groups that
learned farming from the Sumerians. The primitive tribal farmers
spread over most of Europe and the Ancient East well before the
civil populations of Sumeria started to spread. The farmers of
Sumeria did have superior tools, techniques and crops.
In the future it seems unlikely that there will be anything
quite like the peasant class due to the requirements of and for
technical farming. Where civilizations have lasted any extended
period of time, was in river valleys where the soil is regularly
replenished or on a terrace farm where humans can replenish the
soil. Anywhere else that humans have practiced agriculture for an
extended period of time, the soil has been depleted. Soon, in a
biological sense, humans will change from eating foods grown in
natural soils, to eating food that is grown under created
conditions. We also will utilize synthetic foods.
From the point of view of the farmer, it is a question of
resources. Traditionally that has meant fertile soil and adequate
water. It becomes an issue of growing media, water conservation
and even artificial lighting. Development of ultra-violet
resistant, silicon plastics, will allow creation of durable,
economical greenhouses. Grown hydroponically or in processed soil
media, crops could be indefinitely produced without causing
natural soil depletion. The water conserving nature of a
greenhouse not only enhances growth, but also reduces the problem
of salt build up.
Few things of interest can be concretely be said about the
future. One of them is about changes in food production and the
status of the peasant farmer.
3. Technology. not resources
Human development has largely been based on tool using
ability. All organisms have behavioral techniques to go with
their physical adaptations. A tiger bites and a horse runs.
Humans survive by the use of technique. Human psychology and
physique is so adaptable that with the use of tools and
specialized techniques, we have spread all over the world and are
capable of surviving in almost any extreme of ecology or
environment. We build shelters and make clothing to protect
against the weather and dangers. We have special ways to make
food edible that we otherwise could not eat. For primitive
humans, before agriculture, a digging stick probably provided
more meals than a throwing stick did. About 400,000 years ago,
humans got good enough at making tools and capable enough at
using them, to start hunting big game. As mentioned before, this
was the change that really started things. Then the technical
revolutions started really happening at an accelerating rate as
each development fed on previous technical developments and on
developing human potentials. The developments were in
agriculture, pottery, metallurgy, engineering, transportation,
government, law, philosophy, medicine, economics, ad infinitum.
Still, these are all things that we have learned.
So where does it go? We already have replaced our food
sources repeatedly. We have replaced muscle with machine and
controlled disease. We have also developed some pretty complex
and potentially useful systems of government, law and economics.
Still, what are the techniques and systems that we will require
for the next stable ecology and how can they be developed?
By definition, the critical element in the ecology of any
species is their energy source. To humans, this means an amazing
diversity of resources, acquired and utilized qualitatively
differently than by any other previous specie. Technical humans
have an enormous energy and resource appetite. Our civilization
has been built on the energy of agriculture and then petroleum.
The next stable ecology will be defined, to a certain extent, by
the form of the energy resources we utilize. The energy source
that we use, its technical limitations and potentials, will
define much about our culture.
Unfortunately, since it would make things simpler, humans
cannot be well defined, like most other species, by their
resource characteristics. By using fusion and photo-voltaic
cells, we will be able to provide the energy that we will
require. A stable ecology is largely defined by a balance between
energy utilization and availability. As far as it goes, with the
requisite energy, we already have the technology to produce any
resource we desire. Gold from sea water, aluminum, fresh water,
glass, fertilizers, light, fuel..., all can be produced from
cheap, plentiful resources.. if you have the requisite energy.
Resource limitations for humans will most likely depend on waste
management, space and choice more than simpler limitations such
as arable land or water availability.
It suffices to say that our technology is progressing
rapidly and appears to have the potential to supply the energy
and material resource requirements of the next stable ecologies
under a variety of conditions. Just as the ecology will
stabilize, so eventually will engineering technology, until there
is not a complete technological generation gap every decade or
so. As it has been in the past, tool using and technical ability
will continue to be one of the most important features of human
survival strategy.
As was previously stated, humans are not completely defined
by their resources. We are completely dependent on our knowledge
and beliefs. Education, philosophy, law, belief, government,
ethics, moralities, values, all relate to behavioral techniques
that are vital to our survival. How developed are our behavioral
techniques and how can we develop what we need? Since morality is
the word used to describe the actions, beliefs, values and
methods that constitute basic survival strategy, all behavioral
techniques should be considered part of morality. All other
topics should be examined first so that a complete view of
morality and possible moralities, can be developed.
&&&
## Organizational Forms
put religion in here with politics
politics, ++++ law,contracts,constitutions ownership
nepotism + military rule, monarchy
#####
There are cases where a useful adaptation makes an earlier
adaptation useless or even detrimental. Use of the upright
posture by humans made the drain of the respiratory system, the
nose, move from below the mouth to right above it. Because of the
additive nature of genetic evolution, this often happens where
one trait supersedes an earlier trait. It may even occur when
the first trait is far more developed than the new one, such as
upright posture superseding bad placement of the nose. Upright
posture is more important now, as the position of the nose used
to be.
######
The importance of organizational systems to a civil society
or any other human endeavor, cannot be over emphasized. It has
superseded the importance of most factors, including genetics
sometimes. There is often a conflict between an individuals
desires and the demands of their life in their society. It can be
seen that even bad organization is almost always better than no
organization at all. My apologies to anarchists everywhere, but..
We require organizational systems, for institutions, all social
groups from families to nations, personal organizational systems
and systems to organize techniques. Organization of human systems
require agreements, referred to here as contracts.
The society is so dependent on organizational forms, that
the needs of the society can outweigh selection at the
individual level so much as to cause group selection.
POLITICS
Politics is a method for controlling power. Power is the
ability to make things happen.
Politics is a method by which power can be exercised most
efficiently. Politics is how peoples differences are resolved,
one way or another.
/******************** this is about ruling classes
How about a little expansion of the views of the related
economic and ruling class. In either case, the rule is by power
or by agreement. In a mechanistic view, this evokes no value
judgement. It is not right or wrong, it is survival.
???? Ayn Rand
provided us with brilliant discussions of the potentials of
leadership of the society by different groups.
move
There are two points of view that the ruling class can take,
that are not mutually exclusive. One relates to actions that
serve as leadership for the society and the other relates to the
exploitation of the rest of he society for their exclusive
benifit. They can view themselves as the leaders of their people
or as the owners and masters of them.
To a member of a tribal society, those of a civil society
are subjugated, controlled and domesticated. To a member of the
civil society, a tribal individual is narrow, unadaptive and
lacking in discipline.
The issue really comes down to the beliefs of the society.
Is the city and society a cooperative venture for mutual benifit
or is it an arena for provincialism. A modern society requires a
great amount of cooperation and organization. If the balance
between social interest and self interest becomes to much towards
the individual, the society fragments and fails as a community.
Each group considers itself seperate and all other groups are
different and to be exploited.
It would be expected that in the next ecology, genetics and
beliefs would be such as to make the society much like a
community. The overall attitude would be cooperative, because
you would be more interested in another persons potentials rather
than competing with them.
######
Where this absolute need for organization is most clearly
seen in our political and economic systems. Politics are based on
power. Economics are based on resource. The combination makes the
modern world.
Where this absolute need for organization is most clearly
seen in our political and economic systems.
Politics are based on power. Economics are based on
resource. The combination makes the modern world.
####
Politics and often economics, is based on potential military
power to control and dictate the rules. Aggressiveness has had
much of the final say in history. As political systems develop in
efficiency, they relate largely to using power in subtle ways
rather than gross forms. Gross forms of politics are violent
displays of power and are not particularly efficient. To a large
extent, the development of aggressiveness during the time of the
cities, has been the development of politics. This is because
violence could largely determine the form of the organizational
system. Much of the institution of politics was the best
techniques for using power. Often power has an identical
definition to aggression - violence or threat of violence to
accomplish a goal.
**********************************/ end of about ruling classes
########up CONTRACTS and LAW
The contract is an organizational form. Often it is
considered a legal entity. We can look at the form of contracts
over time, using numerous points of view. Presently, we are using
a system that was inherited from warriors, thousands of years
ago. During that time, other contract forms were still used, but
not primarily. What were the contracts of the Sumerians before
they were conquered by the Semites? What were the contracts of
the phoenicians and Minoans before conquest by the Indo-
Europeans? Most would have been family. Probably, marriage
was one of the only contracts before the cities. Marriage is
still a primary economic contract. In history, the most important
contract was marriage.
########
## In ways, feudalism is as discrete a social form as the
stratified society. It was another form of organization based on
a social contract of classes. The contracts were oaths of
loyalty and obligation. Feudalism and its niche were quite
transitory, but significant as it led to much of the modern
organization of nations.
Writing primarily developed for record keeping of supplies.
It seems likely that very early on, writing was used as part of a
business contract, but a personal contract of honor and
obligation probably existed before language. Through history both
the personal and written contract have mutually developed. Often
they are both recognized as legal contracts.
Think of different marriage contracts. They have a basic
form with numerous different aspects that change in
interpretation. The elements of the marriage contract relate to
economics, family, fealty, religion and community. Different
marriage contracts vary on how each point is interpreted. The
family aspect of marriage would have developed before the
economic aspect, but not much before status. A personal marriage
contract and a written contract exists together as a legal
contract.
Consider two contracts of marriage based on different
beliefs. The belief is whether the offspring are believed to
represent a combination of the parents or just the descent of one
parent. Consequences would differ greatly.
A very common organizational form is that of the
neolithic hunting party. Its descendent is the basic working team
utilized for most occupations and warfare. The ability to work as
a team is one of the highest developments of human nature and
technique. It is primarily a masculine behavior.
organizational form-personal, family, community, political, military, corporate, economic
One of the most important organizational forms to recognize
is a form based on nepotism and a form modeled on nepotism, but
having to do with common interest rather than common ancestry.
##
So, make some models to see what might happen. What would
happen if a practical fusion power plant were developed now. What
would be the difference in consequence if the machine was small
verses if it was large, complex and expensive to produce. To
model management systems, the abilities of their working team
must be described. We can examine the consequences of a variety
of economic systems, techniques and laws. All of these interact
with human ability and limitation.
#####
p77own
Concepts of Ownership
Ahhh.. here it is. I've been looking for this.
Concepts of ownership are fundamental to present human
systems, but the meaning may not be so clear as a biological
concept. What is needed is models that are familiar enough to
understand, but different enough to contrast with our present
concepts of ownership.
Ownership is an organizational system humans use to optimize
utilization of resources. Free enterprise - distributed ownership
and management, creates distributed incentive and corresponding
efficiency. It creates a system related to supply and demand of
available resources and who uses them. This describes some of an
equation that quantifies human resource utilization characteristics
in relation to our social and genetic forms and limitations. Change
any part of the equation and consequential social, genetic and
resource changes will be projected.
Presently, economics is based mostly on the rules of supply and
demand. What would happen if something, perhaps technology, changed
the nature of the supply or the demand? What other factors would have
to be considered?
Presently we refer to private, public, state, communal,
military, family, legal and a few other types of ownership. What
has ownership meant, what might it come to mean. This will only
consider what is called public and personal ownership. There are
gray areas, but these will serve for most descriptions.
At the time of the tribal hunter gatherer, there was little
to own. Personal items were bedding, clothes, cooking utensils,
personal decorations, hunting and collecting tools and a few
other items. Public property would have been the territory of the
tribe and tribal "houses". There was not much to own and the most
important item would have been the territory that was hunted and
foraged. Even then, possessions were a large part of status.
Different tribes would have been subject to different
limiting factors on their population growth. Overall, food would
have been the most common limitation. Humans survive in heat, cold
and lack of water. Disease, though a common enough problem, would
not have been a constant limit.
With the rise of the cities, many things about ownership
changed. There was more to own and more benefit to the ownership.
New concepts of ownership could develop. Whereas the tribe had
no concept of personal ownership of the territory, the farmer had
to develop a great sense of ownership. It was not until the
industrial revolution and the American Civil War that the
importance of land ownership changed. The most important aspect
of ownership developed, had to do with the increase in things to
own. That allowed for large economic differences between
individuals and the later development of the aspects of values
and status that persist to today. Before this, status was mostly
tied to hunting skills and fertility.
Then along came the warriors. The agricultural peoples
probably did not greatly change their values and concept of
status. The warrior races had much more highly developed concepts
of ownership. They were mainly nomadic pastoralists who had to
transport whatever they owned. It was normal for them to raid
their neighbors flocks. Status was more clearly related to a form
of wealth and ownership. When they conquered the cities, it
meant enforcing their ownership.
The system developed, grew and was rigidly enforced by the
ruling classes, because it was the essence of their power. At
the same time it was a vital element to the organizational system
that allowed the development of civil and national societies. The
system in existence presently is directly descended from the
system created by Alexander of Macedonia. At various times the
ruling group has been replaced, but usually the system is
perpetuated by the conquers to legitimate their rule and avoid
destroying the vital organizational system. The way that they
"legally" transferred ownership was by marriage or forced
concession. Lack of the appearance of legitimate transfer of
ownership invited immediate challenge and potential anarchy.
Other concepts of ownership relate to religious or state
ownership. These are variations on how ownership would have
looked at the time of the tribe. Religions are analogous to
tribes, in this aspect, anyway.
So up to now, ownership has related to organization, status
privilege and resources for survival. How will this change,
within the predictable changes in the ecology? The question is
complicated the most by status.
If the social form is going to be based on survival and
benefit to the individual, some things can be predicted. The
first things to look at are private ownership verses state
ownership. Then ownership will have to be looked in the context
of changing genetic characteristics.
Ownership is an organizational system humans use to optimize
utilization of resources. Free enterprise - distributed ownership
and management, creates distributed incentive and corresponding
efficiency. It creates a system related to supply and demand of
available resources and who uses them. At the same time it helps
keep conflict over usage to a minimum. There is a vested interest
for owners to protect the institutions and habits of ownership.
This describes some of an equation that quantifies human resource
utilization characteristics in relation to our social and genetic
forms and limitations. Change any part of the equation and
consequential social, genetic and resource changes will be
projected.
Capitalism and free enterprise are very different things.
Capitalism refers to using capital, of any form, as a tool of
production. Free enterprise refers to the ownership and
management of a business. Free enterprise is part of the
organizational system of our economic system. The whole point of
mentioning this is to look at the consequence and motivation of
distributed ownership and management. In every industry, niches
of different sizes and characteristics develop with different
management requirements. Some industries or businesses are
demanding enough as to require small company size to provide
adequately organized and motivated management. Bigger business
tries to develop management systems that provide organization,
profit and motivation. From a technical standpoint, what are the
problems, strategies ad infinitum of our economic systems. What
are the function and goals of the economic system? Better yet,
can it be used as a description of human resource strategies.
Anytime wealth is examined in the context of resource, remember
to consider it in the context of status.
So what forms of economic organizational forms will be used
in the next ecologies? Existing and past methods can be described
for systems from corporate legal forms to organization of a work
gang to the use of money. All of these methods are technical
tools of extreme importance. We use money as a method of resource
exchange. We use law to keep the lid on. Management organizes. In
the tribe, there was little that could be called wealth and most
of that related to status. The stratified society is a name for
an organizational form. Much of that form ended with the
monarchies. At this time we watch the failure of the system
called communism.
########
Really, religion is about family law that governed the form
of the family and community. Politics is how different peoples,
communities, organize their interrelations. Ownership is the
basis of the organization of resources and economics. Laws
governing ownership, came largely from warriors.
Plato described the mythical society of Atlantis as composed
of priest kings, warriors and farmers. He did not mention
craftsmen or scribes as a group.
The society is so dependent on organizational forms, that the needs of
the society can outweigh selection at the individual level so much as
to cause group selection.
Predators
It can be considered that the warriors that conquered the
agriculturists and urbanites all through history, were acting as
predators. For many reasons, humans should to be acutely aware of
human predators and parasites. One notable reference to predators
in a civil society is the term gangster. It is a word that shows
up from a number of different times and locations. It is a word
to describe a person that carefully uses violence to exploit
individuals of the society while avoiding the retaliation or
awareness of the society. In the study of cities, it is a
constantly reoccurring theme. It is usually based on family
relationships rather than tribal, but the real bond is the
predatory or exploitive behavior
p74comm
Media and Mass Communication
Much of the basis of human society relates to communication.
Much of the present change in human ecology directly relates to
communication of ideas, both philosophical and technical.
Humans are near the culmination of a transition between
ecologies. Our adaptation to this new niche will be behavioral.
Both our genetic behavioral potentials and our knowledge must
adapt. Communication is how we will adapt our knowledge and
beliefs.
Almost all human progress can be called technical
advancement. Utilization of crops, tools, building techniques,
sanitation techniques, science, political and religious forms are
all based on ideas that were created, taught and spread.
Rapid and mass communication techniques are basically very
new. They are very important already and rapidly developing.
It is very difficult to give more than a qualitative description
of the effect of communication on human ecology, because its
effects are just about all pervasive. Communication is a basis of
human society and technology.
###############################################################
# move the COMM stuff to technology ####
So what effects and consequences are worth mentioning?
Communication and speech have been a focus of human evolution
since near the beginning of the hunter and gatherer ecology.
Communication ability shows a peak in the big game hunters of the
recent half million years. Communication is part of the focus of
selection for any social specie.
Communication is a large part of the development of technology
and then the techniques can be used by others only after they
have been communicated.
Communication of philosophical concepts and beliefs is as
important to human development as are the techniques of resource
manipulation and manufacturing.
Communication can be used as a description of the dispersal
and hybridization of the human gene pool. The meetings and
intermingling of the ancient tribes, is much of recent human
progress.
Communication can also be the name given to the transport of
goods and raw materials in the local and global marketplace.
Using the definition that a priest is a teacher of moral
systems, that could make media quite a moral vehicle. One of the
worst aspects of disfunctional families, is that the problems can
be continued from one generation to the next. The only way to
break the cycle is education. Media can portray healthy,
functional families that can be used as models.
High efficiency communication best serves creative groups and
can hinder exploitive groups by the spread of warnings.
Medicine
and health care is one of the largest industries in
the world. It entails extensive facilities for education,
research and patient care. Its effect is profound, especially
with antibiotics and other advanced techniques that save so many
lives.
Medicine is almost completely niche specific to humans
though aid to an injured or sick individual is occasionally
exhibited by various species.
Health care may be considered an occupation, the
practitioners of which are paid for their services. That
description is almost misleading when considering the importance
and complexity of the work performed as well as the resources
devoted to it.
Medicine can have different philosophies, partly dependent on
available technology. The earlier that a medical problem can be
dealt with, the easier and more effective will be the treatment.
The first philosophy of medicine is to cure a problem after it
occurs. This may be simply aiding a sick or injured person until
they heal. A progression on this is when the persons own healing
or disease fighting ability can be enhanced, such as by surgical
repairs or antibiotics.
The second philosophy of medicine is to prevent the problem
from arising in the first place. This can be by vaccinations,
particular health habits or early corrective surgery. The
ultimate progression of this is when the genetic predisposition
or susceptibility, to a medical problem, can be removed. Better
than curing cancer, would be the reinforcement of genes that are
not prone to cancer.
STATUS
###
status is both a behavior and an institution and a belief
It seems likely that what we consider material wealth, actually
represents an ecological element as novel as wars of conquest were
8000 years ago. Before agriculture, there were very few things that
constituted wealth, especially durable wealth, other than territory.
A question must be asked about the meaning of wealth. Is it something
to be created or is it to be amassed? Money has so much meaning
now. It can save a life or destroy a family. It can be part of
status and it can enhance mate selection. It can compete with the
critical values that constitute morality. Money is a critical part
of the organizational system, upon which our society is based.
Presently, economics is based mostly on the rules of supply and
demand. What would happen if something, perhaps technology, changed
the nature of the supply or the demand? What other factors would have
to be considered?
###
There are many kinds and meanings to wealth. Wealth can be
material, genetic, technical and other things. It can be beauty,
money, skill and position. One of the most important forms of
wealth is status. In terms of biology, it is described as the
reproductive group that you have access to. In terms of reality,
it dictates much of the form of human decisions. Status is a
fundamental and important aspect of how we socially interact
organize and regulate our society. In analyzing any
characteristic of human habit or belief, consideration of its
relation to status is usually pertinent.
Status and class have more mobile meanings than does caste.
Caste refers not only to occupation and status, but to tribe.
Class refers more to status and usually economic position. Class
may not refer to tribe. In recent history, status and class has
come to be very closely related to material wealth and to a large
extent, beauty ( as in the past as well ). The source of our
primary value system is the aggressive Indo-Europeans. We
compete for status, by the methods and value system of
pastoralists. There are some.. other value systems, aggressively
attacked by more fundamental elements of the society ( ignorant
people ) who instinctively attack any sign of change or challenge
to their value system. The values of the pastoralist are just
what can be seen presently.
There is another form of status that this society recognizes
to some extent. That is intellectual ability. Both the actor and
the sport star are likely to acquire monetary wealth. This is
usually not the case for the intellectual artist, but there is a
status system involved. In a way it is like beauty, but it is so
antithical to the common aggressive system of the society, that
it becomes a separate status value and system. It is a very
visible contrast between genetic wealth and material wealth.
Beauty fits into the aggressive system better than creative
ability and is often equated directly with material wealth. In a
system dominated by aggressive exploitive values, The exploited
class becomes low in status. Creativity is antithical to the
values of the society. It is presently so important that you can
get away with it some, if you are apologetic. One thing rigidly
enforced by the society, it is unforgivable for an individual to
claim superior intelligence. It may be due to the present lack
of any real understanding of what intelligence means, but more
likely it is seen as an assault by the aggressive value system.
Perhaps intellect without the drive of aggressiveness is too
limited.
So, make some models to see what might happen. What would
happen if a practical fusion power plant were developed now. What
would be the difference in consequence if the machine was small
verses if it was large, complex and expensive to produce. To
model management systems, the abilities of their working team
must be described. We can examine the consequences of a variety
of economic systems, techniques and laws. All of these interact
with human ability and limitation.
##################################################################
Part 2 - General Attributes of Institutions
2b. It eventually becomes true that the main function of an
institution must be its own self perpetuation.
?? Consideration of the complexity of the part of institutions
that is for organization and self perpetuation, verses the
functional aspects of an institution
Part 3 Law and Custom
Model of institutions acting together -- summary
Consider the model of human society as an organism. It takes
in resourses, distributes them, converts them, uses them and then
removes their waste products. This is a very useful description
of the stratified society. As such, each class and caste serves a
specialized function like an organ. Consider it from the point of
view of of the parts.
It is like the old joke about the the organs of the body
arguing about which has the most important function and should
therefore run the body. A farmer says let them eat dirt. I am the
only source of the basis of life - food. The craftsman says "you
can only have your homes, tools, products and buisnesses if I
create them". The scribe, teacher and priest say "try to exist,
grow, organize or raise your children without my help". The
economic and military ruling class simply say that they must
ultimatly provide the critical executive guidence to the society
and anyway they have the power to make things as they desire or
believe.
The nature of this problem was examined long ago. Plato
described Utopia as having farmers, craftsmen and warrior-
priests, to fulfill all of the necessary functions of the
society. There are older descriptions of the functional parts of
the society such as in the bible. In the tribal society, the
differentiation of occupations was relatively much less, but did
exist, though it was based differently than in the stratified
(multi-tribal) society.