Freedom, Society, and State - Ludwig von Mises Institute

ministrative system, of an ideology of superiority and
o f r u 1 e r s hip, and 0 f a bur g e 0 h i ng e con omy wit h s om e
differentiations of economic functions."(3) Anthropolo
g i s t s suehas R • M. Ma c I verandR. H. Low i e (4) ha ve
concentrated on internal factors and contended, along
what i s e s s en t i a 1 I Y A r i s tot eli an line s ( 5 ) , that the
state emerges from the existence within society of
associations which were voluntarily formed by independen
t bands for such speci f ic purposes· as the preservat
ion 0 for d e r 0 r the rna i n tena nee 0 fareli g i 0 uscu It.
As these associations gradually develop their own rules
and enforcement mechanisms, they tend to break down the
tr ibal bonds of kinship, thereby uniting several formerly
independent bands into the larger association.
While these various associations are autonomous under
the pain of necessity they are willing, at specific
times and for specific purposes, to cooperate in the
formation of a larger political unit and to temporarily
delegate their authority to it. This process, according
to Lowie, leads toward the voluntary formation of
the state, which would be attained once such delegation
of power became permanent. For empirical support Lowie
cites the eight Associations of the Crow Indians of
North America. Once every year, at the time of the
hunt, these associations would delegate their authority
to an agreed upon central power. They would do so
because to be successful a hunt required the cessation
of inter-association conflicts during its duration.
Once the hunt was over, however, the associations would
again assume their independent status and authority.
While Lowie claims that the tendency was toward the
emergence of the permanent state, the Crow Indians were
conquered by the government of the United States before
the final state was reached. While admitting "definite
validity" to certain aspects of the Lowie-MacIver thesis,
the confl ict theor ists rebut that since the stage
of autonomous associations had existed among the Crow
Indians for centuries there was in fact no tendency
toward the emergence of a permanent state. Hence, they
say, the the 0 r y i sun a b let0 ace0 un t for "the' j urn p ,
from non-state to state."(6)
Another theory, also concentrating on internal
factors, has been propounded by Morton Fried. Fried is
in basic agreement with Oppenheimer's analysis regarding
the emergence of economic inequality and social
s t rat i fie a t ion . Toprot e c t the i r posit ion s, howe ve r ,
the wealthy must not simply resort to occasional violence,
but must establish "powerful institutions of
political control." Thus, the stratified non-state
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