We are so successful because of our innovation and cooperation in large groups, and it’s a legacy we can’t ignore. Humans aren’t overly capable individually, there are many other predatory species larger, stronger and faster, with sharp claws, plenty of teeth and nocturnal vision to assist them. We’re simple primates, among the great apes, and not even the largest or strongest of them. We’ve required groups of us: tribes, clans, kingdoms and nations, to survive and thrive, and we’ve carried this trend with us into the modern day. While fundamental to our humanity, our nature hasn’t kept pace with technology and our lifestyles in the modern West, and this has led to some interesting discrepancies which need to be addressed, if we are to truly grapple with the issues of our time.
In this age of cars, phones, the internet, suburbs, large and growing urban centers, mass transit, passenger flight, constitutional nation-states dominated by democratic republics and Western-led globalism, it’s incredibly easy to forget where we came from. The vast majority of human history was nothing like what we experience today. The story of the entirety of human civilization is but a cliff note in the tale of our species, most of which was spent in relatively small groups of hunter-gatherers, like the tribes, clans and confederations of Native American nations before European colonization. Writing didn’t even exist until a handful of thousands of years ago, a mere blip on the radar of our already very recent existence.
Believed to have emerged in eastern Africa somewhere around two hundred thousand years ago, at least in our more-or-less anatomically modern form, humans did not easily nor quickly colonize the landmass of the earth. We struggled to adapt at times, ran into predators or geography which slowed our progress, while disease, conflict with other humans, childbirth complications and infant death kept our population from growing very quickly. We constantly walked on a blade’s edge between having what we needed and death for ourselves and those we love.
As primates, we humans tend to give birth to only one newborn at a time, and have a higher chance of complications during labor than many other mammalian species. We also each require decades to fully develop as adults, notably longer than most other species, even other mammals. So, even though groups of adult humans have proven extremely effective at surviving and thriving on this planet, we require a large investment of time, energy and resources to get to this state. The result was we saw a very slow growth curve in our population until much more recently in our history, a level of gradual growth that is very easy to forget in our age of more than seven and a half billion living people more concerned with overpopulation and climate change than survival of the species.
Even when humans finally began founding permanent settlements and forming culturally and linguistically distinct groups, such as those in the Nile River Basin in modern Egypt, Mesopotamia in modern Iraq, the Indus River Valley in modern Pakistan and India, or along the Yellow River in modern China, technological progress, population growth, and social development took place slowly compared to today. Nonetheless, the greater density of people, increased job specialization, and reliance on agriculture resulted in a huge change of lifestyle. This required a central focus on family, honor, martial skill, defined social and gender roles, and survival.
While there is strong evidence many tribes, before our transition to permanent settlements, were led by counsels of elders, often including or dominated by women, this and other trends faded away in favor of patriarchal rule. Even today, surviving hunter-gatherer societies show an impressive degree of egalitarianism and cooperation among members and leaders, while early civilizations thrived on creating hierarchies.
Yet, in times of crisis, we humans tend to rally around a central figure, typically an adult male who inspires confidence in his abilities and skills, giving us perceived answers to our problems. This manifests even today, as politicians thrive on exaggerating our challenges and over-simplifying solutions to them, all the while telling us they are the best person to lead. This reactionary tendency is present in all humans, a hardwired response we all share. While often more damaging than productive in modern times, this proved invaluable to our day-to-day survival throughout most of our history.
We have developed to be a territorial species, to ensure our ability to obtain the resources we require, and thus have presented a warrior strain, genetically and culturally, to protect our imagined or needed span of control. Throughout our history, this role has been performed almost exclusively by males. In fact, intergroup conflict characterized by violence, injury or death has been historically perpetuated nearly universally by men. Research suggests men's tendency to engage in coalitional aggression is manifest in all cultures, modern and traditional, and is therefore considered a human universal.
Whether it be to protect against attack from predators, fellow humans of an opposing tribe, or to attack others in an attempt to gain resources or territory, our inclination towards violence developed early on. The realities of our environment and requirements for survival shaped our development as a species, leading to our banding together into groups, differentiated roles and professions, collective cooperation and coordination, strong leadership structures, and defined gender roles. And we humans are not alone, as species ranging from hyaenas to wolves, lions and most social primates demonstrate intergroup conflict, yet our species clearly shows a much greater scale of fighting and complexity of social structure.
We are so tribalistic today because it was required of us then. We arrange ourselves into groups and see others, even members of our own species, as potentially hostile outsiders due to the necessity of our past. Many of our childrearing traditions, religious dogma, stereotypical gender roles, criminal justice mores, and social and cultural customs are relics of an age when such things were required for our continued existence. From spirituality to trade, making war to suing for peace, family structure to nation-building, our sociality and instincts regarding interaction with other people define us as humans. Human psychology has been shaped by our collective past, and we are still benefitting from and struggling with this legacy today.
While there are many universals of human psychology and culture, such as spirituality, love, kinship, hatred, peace-making, marriage, political alliances, rituals, and war, how we express these quintessentially human traits varies greatly over time, place and culture. For example, our modern, Western view of romantic love is not shared by many surviving African hunter-gatherer tribes. While love between a husband and wife may indeed exist in these settings, it’s not the goal nor center of the family and tribe, kinship is. Marriage is seen as a practical tradition, and the associated love a delightful yet unnecessary byproduct. So, while marriage and the family are present in all known cultures, the centrality of the nuclear family , and the importance of a romantic connection, varies.
Spirituality and religion are another nearly-universal human experience. From the early days of sun, ancestor, or animal-spirit worship, which still carries through to today in several cultures, to god-kings and powerful priest-driven polytheistic beliefs during early civilizations, to the emergence of monotheistic religions over the last several thousand years, to something of a rediscovery of our more simplistic, natural, and honest spirituality in modern times, some form of supernatural expression has permeated every known human culture. While instinctually drawn to connect with fellow humans, we are also profoundly driven to connect with and understand the world and universe around us. At its best, this spirituality leads us to be superior versions of ourselves, and at its worst, it has led to some of the greatest tragedies known to mankind.
And that dichotomy, between the best and worst aspects of humanity, permeates nearly every aspect of human individuals and civilization. We are at once an incredibly innovative, dynamic, intelligent, social, empathetic, nurturing, and resourceful species, while also being remarkably selfish, hurtful, cut-throat, murderous, hateful, hypocritical and closed-minded all at once. We see these traits just as often today as in ages past, humans truly haven’t changed much over the last several tens of thousands of years. Yet, we have a greater understanding of ourselves and each other than ever before. We have technology and a surplus of resources that allow us to connect and enjoy a standard of living unattainable for even the wealthiest rulers in days past. We have improved so much in our lives, at least in the West, yet we still have so far to go to truly maximize our collective human potential.
One can see our tendencies all too clearly in the modern world. On the one hand, our tribalism has been crucial to modern nation-states, democratic republics, industrial capitalism and so many of the positive things the human collective has to offer. On the other hand, there is still much poverty in the world, corruption runs rampant in all societies at all levels, and globalization has not equally benefitted everyone, by a long-shot. While our modern world often carries the promise of inclusion and connection, this is far too often not the case.
And this reality echoes a trait which is and has always been inherent to humanity: insular thinking. We tend to fear and push away what we don’t understand, while also being explorers and dreamers at heart. We have a need to feel safe, which is entirely understandable, yet is often pursued at the expense of what is objectively correct, or truly beneficial. Take the proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, or so called “Muslim ban,” executive order. Both demonstrate what is ideally intended to protect Americans and safeguard our interests, but falls into the trap of being an oversimplified answer to a far more complex problem.
All of this brings us to the point of how best to hone and channel our innate protectionist, reactionary and tribalistic instincts. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to protect your people, keep your community safe for your family, or desire and work for a better life for yourself and loved ones. Yet, there are right and wrong ways to do so. Finding the correct balance is tricky, and there are always unintended side-effects. Yet, we can learn some important lessons from our most successful ancestors, and maximize our chance of success.
Technology and globalization has left many in the West feeling less connected and purpose-driven than our hunter-gatherer or even early agrarian ancestors could have achieved if they’d wanted to. In a pre-agrarian nomadic tribe, every member was needed and useful, everyone had a role, and (most) everyone contributed. You were around your kin constantly, protected your territory and people aggressively, provided for or nurtured your family, and they fulfilled the same roles for you. Purpose and connection was built into their lives, for better or worse, and the world around them was full of both constant danger and adventure.
This is the sort of world our bodies and minds are best adapted for. We need purpose, challenge and connection. Love, camaraderie, and kinship are crucial elements for a healthy life both then and now. Our lives are far more efficient and easy, personal freedom and expression has never been easier to achieve, but in exchange, many of us have forgotten how to fulfill some of our most basic of human needs. And, it shows in our society.
There is absolutely no reason why we cannot reclaim our connectivity and purpose, yet we need to intentionally pursue this end. Despite many of the complaints about the Millennial generation, of which I am a part, we have a tendency to refuse to settle for the status quo. Perhaps a result of reaching adulthood during the Great Recession, or because we were raised to believe we can accomplish nearly anything we set our mind to, yet have since been slowed down by economic reality, we’ve collectively had to embrace more grounded expectations in our lives. This has led to many of us choosing to focus on family, friends, education and work-life balance as our world shifts around us.
Such choices speak to a greater longing on the part of all humanity. A certain resurgent tribalism: connected, empathetic, and geared for the twenty-first century, seems poised for rapid acceptance among many. But in this age of hyper-partisanship and ‘fake news,’ both actually fake and just distasteful to some, there are some key concepts to remember and employ.
We must refuse to accept simple slogans in place of thoughtful analysis. We must demand of our media coverage meaning and context of the issues. We must talk to our friends and neighbors conscientiously about the consequences of sudden and extreme action in the service of an inflammatory single issue. And, we must let no single-issue demagogue dominate our thinking. Tribalism isn’t inherently bad for humanity, it’s our primal selves longing for connection and belonging in the service of survival and fulfillment. Yet we must remain careful and conscientious, refusing to give in to fear and easy answers, for the sake of ourselves and future generations.
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