LECTURE 3-4: THE RISE OF STATES

Question 1

Why did states emerge: theories

Answer 1

Aristotle, Voluntaristic theories: social contract, food surplus, irrigation theory, Coercive theories

Question 2

Aristotle

Answer 2

state is the optimal outcome for societies and the natural condition of human society but state formation not a linear process

Question 3

Voluntaristic theories

Answer 3

individuals foresee the benefits of living under the state: they voluntarily agree to give up

Question 4

Social contract

Answer 4

rational decision reached with an agreement to voluntarily give some of their power. But: persistence of non-states not accounted for, often times conquest (so no consent)

Question 5

Food surplus

Answer 5

food production contributes in 3 ways to features of complex societies:
- involves seasonally pulsed inputs of labor
- food production organised so as to generate food surplus which allows for economic specialisation and social stratification
- Food production required sedentary forms of living.
Food production => increases pop size => also acts in many ways to make features of complex societies possible
But: is surplus sufficient when farming output is below max? chiefdom survived at max production without aggregating into states

Question 6

irrigation theory

Answer 6

irrigation farming required large and centralised investments in infrastructure and centralised bureaucracy. But: irrigation often came after state emergence, cases of local administration of irrigation, fails to address why autonomous groups reached the stage of big irrigation in the first place

Question 7

Coercive theories

Answer 7

was as a recurrent characteristic of state formation. Through violence and war, stronger powers subjugate weaker forms of organisation. But: is war sufficient to create a state

Question 8

coercive theories: two examples

Answer 8

War and population pressure (Diamond)
War and land circumscription (Carneiro)

Question 9

War and population density Diamond

Answer 9

bands and tribes cannot support a large pop because of problems of conflict resolution, decision-making, complex economic transactions and pop density and resource exploitation.
in order for states to be formed, there is an amalgamation of groups through darwinian selection and conquest or threat of an external force

Question 10

In order for states to be formed, there is an amalgamation of groups through

Answer 10

darwinian selection and conquest or threat of an external force

Question 11

darwinian selection

Answer 11

strongest and fittest survive

Question 12

When conquest occurs: 3 possibilities

Answer 12

• Low density and war: no agriculture, only bands, losing clan can escape => no state
• moderate density and war: middle of transition towards agriculture, when tribes find clumped resources. No vacant areas to flee but losing tribes are useless to the victors => less tribes
• High density and war: still nowhere to flee but losers can be used as slaves or be left without political autonomy, pay regular tribute and amalgamate into the victorious society => state formation

Question 13

Environmental circumscription

Answer 13

when group starts farming an area and clashes with another, can’t flee from conflict because land is circumscribed. EX: amazon basin and Peruvian coast

Question 14

Amazon Basin

Answer 14

Groups are small, density is low => low pressure on land. When war occurs, no state formation because tribes can always relocate

Question 15

Peruvian coast

Answer 15

Similar initial first stage but different environmental constraints: groups insulated in small valleys in between the mountains => high pressure on land.

Question 16

consequences of circumscription

Answer 16

Circumscription brings to intensive farming (pop growth), the rising value of land led to war and no chance to escape. Conquest also shaped the emergence of social classes

Question 17

Emergence of the state in ancient Egypt: theories

Answer 17

irrigation: admin was local
Demographic pressure: foraging + underpopulation
circumscription: maybe but no incentive to conquer, pop pressure on land was low and low level of warfare

Question 18

Allen’s hypothesis

Answer 18

Cause is the opportunity for the exploitation of labor and productivity surplus by elite. Geographically circumscribed farmers increased their productivity generating a surplus that could be appropriated by elite => emergence of the state

Question 19

Why was agriculture better than foraging

Answer 19

It’s potential for surplus creation and appropriation. 2 types of surplus: output and labor surplus. advantages of farming: storability, production per hectare, production per worker, seasonability of labor surplus

Question 20

how can elites extract from producers

Answer 20

abundant labor and scarce land => farmers compete for getting farms => a rent can be extracted by the non working elite.
However, as in the case of Egypt: scarce labor and abundant land => farmers can leave the land looking for a better deal => a land rent cannot be extracted and labor is the only possible source of wealth for the elite so elite needs to own labour. underpopulation limits the ability of elites to extract surplus from farmers.

Question 21

regional divide

Answer 21

upper Egypt: nagada, more stratified
lower Egypt: Maadi, more egalitarian
if labor was mobile, farmers could migrate to the more egalitarian society => little potential for surplus extraction by elite.

Question 22

solution for Egypt

Answer 22

upper Egypt conquered lower Egypt to: limit labor mobility, impose high taxation, direct control of labor => unification of Egypt

Question 23

transition to agriculture

Answer 23

foraging and farming coexisted at the start. the High surplus demanded by the elites forced the foragers to convert their mode of production into farming in order to be Able to pay the tributes. establishment of a national state may have pushed the transition to its completion. the initial transformation in the mode of production led to the formation of the first states, and the expansion of those states to secure their economic base created the incentives that completed the shift to farming in egypt

Question 24

pop pressure and food production

Answer 24

intensified food production and societal complexity stimulate each other: pop growth leads to societal complexity, while societal complexity leads to intensified food production and thereby to population growth