Question

Compare the advantages and disadvantages of stateless societies and those with monarchies or other forms of hereditary rule

Answer 1

The presence, or absence, of states has come with the development of nations and the increase of settlement and growth of population. The reason for this is that as more people, with more differences between them, and also similarities, got together in pieces of land, they needed an intermediary who would take care of matters that, for large numbers of people, it was not possible to deal with individually.

Stateless societes existed particularly in prehistoric times, especially in hunter gatherer societies and in pastoral societies. In these cases, individuals and small groups of people formed together around a leader, but each one played a part in how things were run, and the decisions that were made. But these advantages worked for the small groups. The disadvantages were that these small groups were more vulnerable and prone to being destroyed, or dismembered, because of the lack of organization in their systems.

However, as population growth grew, and they settled down in specific land, tasks, needs, and activities also began to grow and develop and thus, as settlement grew, people saw themselves in need of having a state organized, a state that would see to the needs of the group, thus leaving the group to deal with other tasks that were also necessary for advancement, like food production and manufacturing. As these needs grew, leaders started to appear, and monarchies were among the first systems of government that arose in society.

The advantage of these monarchical societies, including hereditary societies, were, that they provided a sense of stability and protection, and people relegated to them activities that were once dealt with by the entire group. The disadvantage was that these monarchical systems turned towards control and power, ambition, to drive their societies in their own favor, and not in favor of the entire group.

These are only a few of the advantages and disadvantages both of stateless systems and monarchical and hereditary monarchies.

Answer 2

• In stateless societies there is little concentration of authority, most positions of authority that exist are very limited in their power and such positions are usually not permanently occupied, and social agencies resolve disputes through Predefined rules tend to be small. Stateless societies are very variable in economic organization, and cultural practices. Most of the history of mankind people have lived in stateless societies. However, few Stateless societies exist at present, since most of them have been obliged to integrate with the state-level companies that surround them.

• The Monarchy is a form of State (although it is often defined as a form of Government) in which a group integrated into the State, usually a family that represents a dynasty, embodies the national identity of the country and its head, the monarch, He exercises the role of head of state. The political power of the monarch can vary from the purely symbolic (parliamentary monarchy), to integrate in the form of government: with considerable but restricted executive powers (constitutional monarchy), even the completely autocratic (absolute monarchy).