Contents
A book by Luke Kemp, subtitled “The History and Future of Societal Collapse.”
What is a Goliath?
A large group of people organized into a dominance hierarchy with a monopoly over legitimate violence: city-states, states, empires, and ultimately the current global super-organism.
The Rise of Goliath
“Goliath Fuel”
- Lootable resources (visible, durable, hoardable)
- Monopolizable weaponry: humans have a deeply-ingrained desire not to be dominated and historically have exiled or killed would-be tyrants. So Goliaths require a monopoly on deadly force to keep populations compliant.
- Caged land: historically people would flee would-be dominators rather than submit to their rule, so Goliaths required a dearth of exit options for populations in order to hold them under control.
Slaying Goliath
- Make resources less lootable.
- Increase exit options so states have to negotiate more with their citizens.
- Use technology to support democracy and oversight of the powerful.
- Knowledge. Only when we understand the oppressiveness of the dominance hierarchies organizing against us can we organize against them.
(Fundamentally this is an instance of the Tragedy of the Commons, right?)