Economic Society Societies With Successful Economic Structures

¶ … Economic Society

Societies with successful economic structures have been difficult to find throughout the development of history. From economic downfalls, to societal dismantlement, human beings have bared the worse of the worse, but have prevailed to demonstrate the reality of the term, "survival of the fittest." Some societies though, have consistently been able to survive successfully, and throughout this paper, the societal type that offers the most preferable economic structure for human beings will be examined. From historical texts and archaeological discoveries, it is the Hunter-Gatherer society that provides the best and most sufficient economy for human beings. Their arrangement, lack of or very little hierarchical structure, and their genuine concern for the well being of everyone in their society, makes them among the top rated societies from which an economy could thrive.

What makes hunter-gatherer's economy thrive is their dependency and reliability on each other for almost everything. Their philosophy is that "an economy can exist only if there is a division of labor in procuring food. If individuals securing food is considered an economy, then all life forms would qualify, and so, we need a more precise definition of economic activities: a division of labor to (1) gather resources from the environment, (2) convert these resources through production into useful sources of human energy, and (3) distribute these converted resources to members of the population" (p. 133). With this in mind, the fact that everyone contributes to the economy and everyone shares the wealth of that economy makes it one worth experiencing. Human beings have a sense of always wanting to overcome and be better than the person next to them, but hunter-gatherer societies actually look out for each other's well being, knowing that if they help one person succeed, it will be a benefit to all of them. Dividing labor among themselves in an even and equal fashion, allows hierarchy to be disregarded and the sense of equality among all to become prevalent, giving everyone even more motivation to assist in the success of their economy since they are not working for anyone but themselves and everyone else around them.

Gendered division of labor is also a concept that allowed the hunter-gather's economy to succeed as much as it has. A mistake among many societies of the modern era, especially the industrial era, was their inability to accept women as viable forces in contributing to a growing economy. By wasting the talents, resource, and usefulness that females have to offer, there is an entire concept that is being ignored, the contribution that females could potentially have on an emerging society. Hunter-gatherers saw and acknowledged that and were able to benefit profusely from it, "the division of labor within a family - females gather, males hunt - creates steady flow of food to family members from gathering, while infusions of protein often came from males of several families securing meat and then sharing it with family and friends" (p. 145). They all looked out for each other's well-being, and dividing labor among all, not just allowing women to become submissive creatures who bear and raise children, they became an actual contributor to society and to the economy that in the end supports them all.

As aforementioned, their stratification policy is practically non-existent, even within the different genders. It is this equal division of power that makes the economy succeed in a hunter-gatherer society, and why It should be the model economy for all human beings. This allowed everyone to work toward the same goal of surviving for one another, and not for the benefit of someone from a higher status. This is what allowed hunter gathers to live such a simple life, so simple that "hunter gathers did not have to work very hard, perhaps 12 to 15 hours per week" (p. 162). Having such a laid back atmosphere because of their confidence in their economy demonstrates just how well their economy worked for them, and how much other human beings would benefit and prosper if they too adapted such a lifestyle.