PH001 -The Origins of Politics: Why Understanding Pre-Governmental Societies Matters

The story of human governance is a tale as old as civilization itself, yet it is not one that follows a single, universal trajectory. When we examine political history, we inevitably find ourselves drawn back into the depths of prehistory, searching for the origins of politics before formalized governments, laws, and rulers existed. The question is not just when governments arose, but how and why humans transitioned from stateless societies to structured governance. Understanding this transition is crucial—not because there is a singular path from pre-political existence to organized government, but because politics, in all its forms, is an adaptive response to social, economic, and ideological needs.

Despite the staggering diversity of human cultures, geographies, and histories, certain patterns emerge when we examine political development. Some societies embraced centralized authority early on, forming vast kingdoms and empires, while others resisted hierarchical rule for millennia, preferring more fluid or decentralized systems. The evolution of governance was not predetermined, nor was it linear—some communities cycled through different forms of leadership, others maintained egalitarian traditions well into historical times, and many blended multiple systems at once. Yet, even amidst this variation, we can trace the outlines of political history in a way that helps us understand where modern institutions originated.

This exploration must begin with the Cognitive Revolution (~70,000 BCE), the period when Homo sapiens developed complex language and abstract thinking, which allowed for the formation of large cooperative groups. The ability to create shared myths, social norms, and belief systems laid the groundwork for political organization, long before the advent of kings or legal codes. From there, we move to the Agricultural Revolution (~10,000 BCE), which created conditions for permanent settlements, population growth, and, crucially, social hierarchies that necessitated new forms of leadership. By the time we reach the first well-documented governments in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and beyond (~3000 BCE), we already see the emergence of laws, bureaucracies, taxation, and divine kingship—all tools used to solidify power and maintain order.

To fully grasp this transformation, we will engage with both ancient texts and modern scholarship. The earliest known written records, such as the Atrahasis Epic, the Enuma Elish, the Egyptian Pyramid Texts, and the Hebrew Bible, do not simply describe historical events—they provide insight into how early societies justified governance and authority. These texts tell us not just what people believed about their rulers, but why they believed governments were necessary at all. At the same time, contemporary thinkers such as Yuval Noah Harari (Sapiens) and David Graeber & David Wengrow (The Dawn of Everything) challenge traditional narratives about political evolution, suggesting that early humans experimented with governance in more diverse ways than previously assumed. By contrasting these perspectives, we can better understand the forces that shaped the emergence of political structures across different civilizations.

In this series of explorations, we will move step by step through history, beginning with the pre-political world of early humans and ending with the first recognized states. While no single theory or framework can fully encapsulate the complexity of human governance, tracing the broad arcs of political development allows us to construct a foundation upon which we can analyze later transformations—how empires formed, how democracy emerged, and how modern states evolved. Only by understanding the deep origins of government can we appreciate the systems that govern us today.