Tribal structures have minimal power differentials, it wasn’t until agriculture (and the first ‘countries’) that this kind of systemic exploitation became so practical. Much has been written on how the advent of agriculture revolutionized the pooling of resources, also enabling their unequal distribution and the hierarchy that establishes which serves to propagate increasing disparity over generations. These types of material conditions are notably absent in the pre-agricultural record. I would agree though that the instincts used to abuse most likely evolved in a hunter-gatherer social intelligence context.
I did say it was indirect…
Tribal structures have minimal power differentials, it wasn’t until agriculture (and the first ‘countries’) that this kind of systemic exploitation became so practical. Much has been written on how the advent of agriculture revolutionized the pooling of resources, also enabling their unequal distribution and the hierarchy that establishes which serves to propagate increasing disparity over generations. These types of material conditions are notably absent in the pre-agricultural record. I would agree though that the instincts used to abuse most likely evolved in a hunter-gatherer social intelligence context.