It was disappointing to read that...

I find it infuriating that as human innovation increased, equality began to disappear. The very problem we have today with hoarding of wealth and resources started with the rise of the first civilizations. Strayer and Nelson (2016) speak of the relative equality of the sexes within the first human societies on page 21 of the text. It is absolutely maddening that gathering and hunting societies enjoyed more equality than women do now. 

This is not just about gender inequality. Let’s talk about the rise of the first civilizations. So we have all these farmers, pastoralists, and trades people working. For the first time, humans should have had a wealth of food, supplies, and free time all while staying in one place. The arts, religion, philosophy all should have flourished. Instead, what we ended up with was a class hierarchy. They stockpiled the resources, developed militaries and plotted ways to stay on top. The working people were creating more and more productive economies (Strayer and Nelson, 2016, p. 71). 
Who were they creating it for? It certainly was not for them, although they probably thought it was. It just goes to show you; even the first civilizations had their Jeff Bezos.
The free commoners of the time just could not get ahead. Even when they were ahead, there excess was stolen from them in taxes (Strayer and Nelson, 2016, p. 71). It’s like the American tax code was taken straight from one of these first civilizations. 

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