Ancient India

Pre Historic Age

One of the basic human tendency is domination over others. Wealthy or poor, human or animal, every living and conscious being craves power and domination over other fellows. There aren’t only one species at the top of the food chain but big cats, especially Tiger & Lion, have been the King of the jungle. This simple example has a deep meaning if one wants to understand human psychological tendencies. Tiger isn’t the heaviest and deadliest being in the jungle, but the terror its presence spreads on other animals is incomparable. The tiger has an inherent tendency to dominate over other creatures, its attitude is arguably only the manifestation of its tendencies. Since money and the spread of material wealth in an agricultural society, and further into a modern industrial society, material power is very much visible in modern society. Material wealth as a breeder of power and domination over those who don’t have isn’t a recent phenomenon but more freely exercised in the modern world.

We developed the major portion of surviving skills and psychological tendencies we show today in the Palaeolithic and Neolithic period only. From the beginning of time, humans had this need to survive for ensuring the continuity of species. Mostly our human ancestors have been on earth, from 260 thousand to 400 thousand years, have lived as hunter-gatherers until agricultural society 10-11 thousand years ago.

Stating hunters and gatherer’s economy was a form of immediate return economy, where they worked to meet their immediate needs without worrying about future needs. They had no obsession with work, worrying about productivity and economic growth, solving economic problems. They spent more time on leisure and growing children. In other sense, they worked to live, unlike us who live to work. They did not need to care about production and consumption or for risk management. What they cared about is the relationship between them and the planet encompassing all living and nonliving. They didn’t have to deal with climate change as they were taking from mother nature only what they needed, not what they desired. They were more healing the ethos “As you sow, so you reap”, than us. It is said that the best diet for a human is to eat what grows naturally around you, and they did that only. They were devouring what mother nature provided them.

The best examples of an egalitarian society that you can find will be from this era only. Men and women both took part in all daily activities from hunting and fishing for food to growing children, roles played by men and women were mostly the same and society was more equal than it will be. Early humans were nomadic hunters and gatherers, they didn’t settle in one place, didn’t make houses. They had practically no wealth or such possession, as wealth in a modern context. They had relatively no social hierarchy apart from a chieftain, leader of the group who was the eldest person of the group and had no such wealth and possession apart from they didn’t take part in hunting. Those were some of the most primitive social groups, but one of the best examples of an equal society.

However, with the discovery of fire and agriculture, society took shape. People settled at one place, the house building started, and with time, diversification of livelihood took shape. Early agricultural societies however mostly had two distinct groups, farming community, and animal rearers. The exchange of goods was also relatively easy with the barter system. Until that time communities were relatively homogeneous and the interaction between different communities and civilization was almost nil.

With the rise of civilizations around the world and the establishment of cities, ancient forms of modern trades and professions developed and possessions of material wealth started. Great interaction between civilization and the trading of goods and services required a workable and acceptable form of medium of exchange for commodities. This gave rise to a more sophisticated and long-running form of medium of commodity exchange, precious metals as an exchange.

From time immemorial Gold has attracted human attention, according to earlier civilizations. As per Egyptian Civilization, gold attracted even gods and called them on earth. They used gold in one or another form from time immemorial, but its most sophisticated use took place as a medium of exchange in earlier civilizations which are still prevalent events in the modern technological age. Accumulation of wealth first started as gold in the modern context and so raised the wealth gap and inequality among the people.

The hunter and gatherer society, mostly, was a muscle dominant society than the knowledge dominant society, and with the movement toward a more intellect based society, exploitation of nature and weaker sections started more dominantly and Inequality takes place in society in an actual sense.