The Extreme Stratification of American Society is in Our Blood

But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it.

Photo by Mandy Henry on Unsplash

Are humans just smooth primates? Yes and no. It’s complicated. We have an inherent, biologically driven nature and a socially constructed nature. The relationship between them has been debated ever since biology was first defined as a science. In the late twentieth century it became a tired, cliched discussion known as the nature-nurture debate.

In the early twenty-first century, it seems that the reality of human biological nature is far, far more complicated than most thinkers in the last century suspected.

When philosophers get involved, the discussion gets heated. But I’m jumping in anyway.

An overview of human nature

Humans are hardwired to seek status and power. We want control over our lives. Often, we see having power, control, and advantage over our fellow humans as a way to have control over our own circumstances.

We’re not that different, really, from chickens in this respect. Or chimpanzees or gorillas.

It is chicken nature to have a pecking order and it is human nature to establish status over other humans. It is gorilla nature to have a silverback dominating an entire…