Once upon a time, there were simple hunter gatherers who survived day-to-day. Then someone invented agriculture and humans became farmers. Farming allowed humans to become sedentary, store grains and accumulate a surplus. This enabled humans to urbanise, build cities and create states. Civilisation was born. Rulers were also born to protect this social evolution of complex civilization and make sure it progressed in an orderly fashion.
The first implication of this story is that one should take it as normal that ‘the best’ and ‘most talented’ naturally lead the rest of us. After all, it is for our own benefit and the greater good that they maintain civilized order. I mean, why else would some people ‘succeed’ and ‘hold power’? Even if those vested with this power often abuse it. The second implication is that inequalities are to be expected, since the progress of civilisation is incomplete. In short, ‘we’ just need to keep improving policies and do our little bit to keep moving forward step by step, stage by stage to try and mitigate the inherent inequality of living in a complex society.
So, the story goes….
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Avi 