Social solidarity must be cultivated from our tribal nature, not imposed by moral imperatives

LINK to Guardian article, Cameron is halfway there on society, by Lisa Harker

Our country no longer pulls together as it should. But materialism, not big government, has damaged social solidarity

Feelings of social solidarity are an evolutionary adaptation to the individual's dependency (for survival and reproductive success) on their TRIBE.

Extending such feeling of solidarity beyond one's own tribe is fraught with difficulties, which favourable circumstances may briefly overcome, but only for as long as they last (e.g. helping a stranger in need, for example) or can be maintained. Notwithstanding that some individuals may convince themselves (perversely and/or opportunistically) that EVERYONE belongs to their TRIBE, which, of course, is what the STATE and universalist religions and ideologies, for their own, self-serving purposes, encourage us all to do.

If we want the genuine, deeply rooted social solidarity, so sorely lacking, which our leaders, and Lisa here, are always appealing to and for, then we have to cultivate and develop it from our evolved tribal nature (which we need to develop a far better understanding of), instead of trying to impose it through moral imperatives, which invariably are largely motivated by the (subconscious) intention of exploiting it to unfair advantage.

The STATE has always appealed for social solidarity, which is then exploited to the advantage of its powerful and privileged elites. And established religions do the same. In claiming to SERVE society, their primary (subconscious) purpose is to exploit it, to their own advantage.

This is not to say that the state and established religion do not serve society. They do, of course, and we depend on them. But their primary purpose is to maintain society as an ENVIRONMENT to be exploited to the advantage of those in wealth, power and privilege.

Once we recognise and develop and understanding of this, we can begin to transform our civilization from the human environment it is now (full of "human resources" for the (self)-exploitation of) into genuine human societies (for the conscious and rational realization of human potential).

The importance of our tribal nature

LINK to Guardian article by Peter Preston, which nicely illustrates our much neglected tribal nature.

An interesting article, which provides a vivid illustration of just how deeply tribal we humans are, of what really counts, so far as our deepest emotions are concerned, is our personal relationships and interactions, not just with our immediate friends and family, but also with our extended family, or TRIBE.

In the light of what we now know about human evolutionary origins, it is easy to understand why this is the case, and why - were we to overcome the taboo against recognising it - in modern mass society, there is so much unhappiness, mental illness and anti-social behaviour, most of it perfectly legal and respectable, even greatly admired, such as being stinking rich, and thus (perversely) quite independent of any tribe.

We have the potential for such strong emotional interactions and bonds with our tribe, because when human emotions and behaviour patterns were evolving, long before the rise of civilization, the individual depended completely on his or her tribe for survival and reproductive success.

As small tribes were coerced (by shared security interests, on the one hand, and individual opportunism on the other) into ever larger tribal groups, eventually culminating in states and empires, the individual's original tribe was subordinated (as "local communities") and eventually lost almost completely (in modern mass society), its place (along with most of the emotional and material dependencies associated with it) being taken by the state (and a money economy).

Team sports, military and economic units of organization, for example, offer, and exploit, a more personal experience of our tribal nature, but all are subordinated, ultimately, to the demands and purposes of the state, which sees (sells and imposes) itself as a nation, the natural extension of and heir to our original tribes.

We have all been conditioned to see the state - i.e. our idealization of it, if not its reality - in this rosy light, and because of our emotional and material dependency on it, it is very difficult (in many states, illegal) even to question; but question it we must, if we are to understand our situation and the mounting problems (social, political, economic and environmental) which now threaten our very survival.