Abdullah Tamoor

F2021-599

The Origins of Patriarchy, Private Property and the State

Prior to widespread proliferation of pastoralism and plough-based agriculture (as opposed to

hunting and gathering and hoe-based agriculture) society was organized in a strikingly different

manner. Since agriculture was a communal activity, as it required the clearing of forests and the

fields, the digging of irrigation canals required collective effort, agricultural produce was rather

evenly distributed within the community. The organization of the family was also ‘matrilocal’,

with women rearing the children collectively thus giving them ample time to participate in the

production process. There were no hierarchies as there was no surplus production. This mode

of production is therefore called primitive communism. I have an inkling that the Indus valley

civilization was also organized in this manner as we know from standardized building blocks that

it was a classless society.

Interestingly, ancient religions, as derived from totemism and fertility cults (Frued: Totem and

Taboo), totems driven by animals or natural phenomena, that animated the imagination of

there primitive peoples had focal female deities such as Nefertiti. This also points to the position

of women in primitive societies, as women’s ability to give life was held in high esteem because

the population was scarce and more and more bodies were required to till the soil.

Then, as the stone age gave way to the bronze age, the social order underwent a tumultuous

transformation. Bronze tipped ploughs tipped ploughs significantly increased the productivity of
the soil, increasing the yield manyfold, while reducing the effort it took. As a result, much larger

tracts of land could be cultivated much further away from the settlement. This led to huge

surplus production. Bronze technology required specialized skills and long-distance trade; both

the fields became increasingly male dominated as women were rendered immobile due to

repetitive child rearing. Gradually, a power differential began to emerge between the genders.

Bronze weapons were also deadlier, making the wielder capable of much more violence, and

since only men had access to these, they were able to subdue and seize their womenfolk.

Grain houses that stored the surplus produce became prone to looting if a neighboring clan had

a bad harvest, and the surplus provided the resources as well as the motive for plundering. To

guard the surplus, a class of people who didn’t participate in the production process, whose

sole occupation was violence carried out in order to either guard or loot surplus. Since this class

didn’t participate in the production process, in order to sustain them, a bureaucracy emerged to

A. keep record of the surplus, and B. tax collection. Interestingly, through accounting for

agriculture produce, cuneiform emerged. As men would not like to watch the fruits of their

labor(surplus) being appropriated by those other than his kin, the institution of private property

was born, with the tribal leadership morphing into the ruling class, the state in its embryonic

form i.e., ‘bodies of armed men’ was born, to uphold property relations.

Interestingly, during this time, religion too began to shift from matriarchal to patriarchal, and as

the embryonic began to expand beyond its precincts, monotheism began to emerge, with

‘divinely ordained’ priest kings, to assimilate any conquered people into the populace. When

one tribe attacked another, the victorious tribe would appropriate not only the surplus but the

women folk too, as reproductive slaves. Thus, slavery, private property, class society, patriarchy
and the state were all intricately linked to one another, and the superstructure began to

accumulate as the state apparatus expanded, and violence intensified due to iron age

technology being abundantly accessible, surplus production too expanded, providing the means

for further expansion of the state.

Pic one is older than pic two, depicting the declining status of the female Pharoh as compared

to the make Pharoh over the years.

Sourced from : The origins of private property and patriarchy and the state by Fredrich Engels

and A radical history of the world by Neil Faulkner.