Chapter 169: Ants and Humans (2)
After talking about language, let's talk about organizational structure and hierarchy.
The social organization of human primitive society can be divided into several different forms, such as primitive people, blood families, clans, clans, tribes, and tribal alliances, among which clans are the foundation.
The clan system has the following main characteristics:
First, a clan organization is bound together by blood ties among its members, not a regional alliance. Each member depends on the clan for survival, and people of the same clan have the obligation to protect each other, help each other, and take revenge on each other.
Ant societies are similar, where ants in the same nest are generally descendants of the same queen, that is, they are all relatives. And the vast ant kingdoms such as the big-headed ant kingdom and the paving ant barbarian kingdom can also be traced back to the ancestors of the same ant nest, and all citizens are related to each other, and there is a need for mutual assistance and reciprocity at the genetic level.
Second, the chieftain, as the head of the clan and the military chief, is democratically elected and presides over the day-to-day affairs of the clan and the settlement of disputes; There is complete equality between the members of the clan, and no one is privileged. This is the so-called primitive "democracy".
The ruling class of ant society, such as male ants and queens, as well as professional ants as the ruled class, are determined at birth and cannot break through the barriers of hierarchy for the rest of their lives.
Within the ruling class, however, there is primitive democracy. Some of the ant races have simple egalitarian relations between the ruling classes, while others have certain hierarchical distinctions, although it is clear that all the ruling classes have more or less political and economic power or privileges.
Third, clan meetings and tribal councils are important forms of social organization in primitive societies, where there is no violent institution that forces people to obey. The Clan Council is the highest authority of the clan, all members of the clan have the right to participate, and the Clan Council, composed of the chiefs of each clan, is responsible for the public affairs of the clan, including dealing with relations between clans or clans.
In the Ant World, the Council of Kings and the Council of Kings, or similar bodies, rooted in democracy within the ruling class, also exist, and are de facto supreme organs of power. No individual member of the ruling class can rebel against the decisions of this supreme organ of power.
Fourthly, the power of clan councils and tribal councils and the equal relations between people are not maintained and regulated by coercive organs and coercive norms, but are maintained and adjusted according to the customs handed down from generation to generation and the respect that people have for clan councils, tribal councils and chiefs, and everything is done according to traditional customs.
The social organization, including clans, clans, and tribes, which naturally developed on the basis of clans, was able to manage all the public affairs of primitive societies and deal with all possible conflicts within society.
Foreign conflicts are resolved by means of war, which often ends in the extinction of a clan or tribe, rather than the losing side becoming the enslavement of the victors.
The same is true of the ant world, where the only factor that determines the ruling class and the non-ruling class is its species, which is determined at birth. Ants have maintained such a system for tens of millions of years, and none of the exploited and oppressed ants at the bottom find this inappropriate.
In a world that lacks the top of the food chain, ants have gradually risen to this position by virtue of their advantages, and with it, the expansion of the ant community. A single nest develops into an ant nation that spans a vast territory, but the bond that sustains the state is still blood, and the basic unit that makes up the kingdom is still a single nest, just as many clans make up the leg, tribe, and tribal alliance.
Wars between different ant kingdoms are very frequent, and this is almost the only way to resolve disputes between the two sides. The vanquished will only be exterminated, and no captives will be left as slaves.
The management of human clan communes was democratic and self-governing in nature, but with the passage of time, private ownership and the differentiation between rich and poor emerged within the clans, and the new rich and noble gradually controlled the rights of the clans, and the primitive democratic system of the clan society was diluted and disappeared. At the same time, with the progress of society and the complexity of life, the number of affairs that need to be managed by public power is increasing, and the division of labor is becoming more and more detailed. This trend is reflected in the composition of the democratic and autonomous governing bodies of clan societies and the process of differentiation and expansion of their functions.
The Council of Chiefs is a body that is consistent with the clan society, and it is composed of the chiefs of each clan, who hold the supreme power of the clan and represent the common good of the clan. However, the chieftaincy gradually became a hereditary office, and after the emergence of the state, the council of chiefs also evolved into a powerful legislative and advisory body, the Senate.
The position and role of military commanders in primitive societies grew gradually and by religious chiefs. In the early days of primitive society, military commanders were democratically elected by clan members by virtue of their own abilities, and their powers were limited to military, sacrificial and certain judicial matters, and there was no administrative power, and their status could not be hereditary. However, with the increasing increase of private property, the frequent occurrence of predatory wars, and the need for explanations of supernatural forces, the powers of military and religious leaders continued to expand.
The People's Assembly has the final say on the measures and programmes drawn up by the Council of Chiefs in relation to public affairs, but its history is far less ancient than that of the Council of Chiefs.
At the beginning of primitive society, there was only one body that managed public affairs - the Council of Chiefs; In the middle of primitive societies, there were two institutions - the Council of Chiefs and the Military Commander (sometimes with religious chiefs); In the late period of primitive society. There are three bodies - the People's Assembly, the Military Commanders and the Council of Chiefs.
In the case of the Big-headed Ant Kingdom, for example, its current power structure is very similar to the structure of the above-mentioned primitive human society.
Human society has a people's assembly, and the big-headed ant kingdom has a ruling class, the general assembly within the male ant, the king's meeting.
However, it is difficult to convene a council of kings in a large country, because there are too many kings, and it is impossible for all the kings of the sub-nest to reach the main nest. Instead, the Council of Kings came into being, like the Council of Chiefs in human society.
Human society has full-time religious and military leaders, and in the kingdom of the big-headed ant, although the division between the kings is not obvious, each king has the same power and can command any area of the kingdom.
However, these kings will also be mainly responsible for the areas they are good at, depending on their own experience and ability. For example, the public security king is basically responsible for military command, and has little contact with civil affairs, so he is equivalent to the military leader of the ant society.
As for the religious leaders, they have been specifically divided, just like the oldest royal line.