THE CIRCUMSCRIPTION THEORY BY R.CARNEIRO
IN THE SOCIO-ONTOLOGICAL AND
MACROSOCIOLOGICAL CONTEXT
Published:
Social Evolution & History. 2012. Ò. 11. ¹
2. Ñ. 86-91
The theory of origin of the state by Robert Carneiro [1970] is, no doubt, is one of brightest achievements
in the 20-th century macrosociology. From
a methodological point of view the theory is significant firstly because it is
built with a high degree of logical correctness, and secondly, because, when
faced with anomalies, it has been successfully improved in direct line with the
concept of scientific research programs (I.Lakatos). In
this paper we will focus on the coherence criterion (between theory and other
theories and more general scientific and philosophical paradigms
The Hempel’s logical scheme
of the nomological (based on laws) explanation and
prediction [Hempel 1942], despite decades of severe criticism
occurred to be the core of the most successful research programs. According to
the Hempel’s scheme, a full-fledged scientific theory
must explain and predict phenomena by means of deductive judgments that connect
initial conditions and universal laws. In his last article Carneiro
formulated the main thesis of his theory: “A heightened incidence of conquest
warfare, due largely to an increase in population pressure, gave rise to the
formation of successively larger political units, with autonomous villages
being followed by chiefdoms, the process culminating in certain areas with the
emergence of the state” [Carneiro 2012]. A possible
explication (with some simplification) of the thesis can be presented in the
following form: In all cases where a combination of conditions
C1 - demographic
pressures,
C2 - regular war oriented to conquest,
a phenomenon e
occurs, which belongs too the class of phenomena E, i.e. political
evolution as a formation of larger political units from autonomous villages
through chiefdoms to states.
The generic quantifier immediately
gives rise to legitimate doubts whether in all cases with these conditions
political units really enlarge and integrate. From
the theory of geopolitical dynamics by R.Collins we know the effect of overextension
and fragmentation of vast conquest societies. If states are susceptible to
disintegration so pre-state political forms which are less efficient in control
and maintain integrity should also break down because of overextension.
Moreover some polities may stop conquest and
consolidation, and remain at the stage of chiefdom. This point was discussed by
Carneiro in an earlier paper where he presented
empirical observations and generalizations about the size of population and
territorial threshold for chiefdom [Carneiro 1988]. The
stable integrity of such large communities (which should be distinguished from
the sporadic military mobilization of autonomous chiefdoms or tribes) is
achieved only by transition to statehood.
Carneiro points to the following criterion of statehood: a presence of a central
government capable to enforce people to work and war [Carneiro
1970]. Generally speaking, a
strong and respected leader of a chiefdom, relying on his close associates
(military elite), can also compel people to work and war. What is so different from the
"central government"? The
main difference is the new institutional quality, namely, the power structure
of functional positions (‘offices’) and the rules of interaction between them,
relatively autonomous from kinship relations and personal ties between
individuals, moreover this structure passes on from generation to generation.
This structure ensures preservation of power,
integrity of management processes in inevitable conditions of aging and death
of the ruling elite. These features make a state in general, more efficient and
robust than the previous form: simple and compound chiefdoms.
The structure of a universal law can be represented graphically
as follows (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Schematic representation of the basic law of origin of state in the
circumscription theory.
Presence of the ‘black box’ as a mediator between the ‘inputs’
(initial conditions, reasons) and ‘outputs (consequences, effects) of the
process is legitimate and justified in the Hempel’s
logical scheme, but it is treated as insufficient in the methodology of Daniel
Little [Little 1991], who requires to present the social mechanism of transition, i.e. to transform the ‘black
box’ into ‘a transparent one’.
It should be noted that in the classic paper [Carneiro 1970] the mechanism of consolidation of political
units has been shown in general terms, partly in form of empirical
generalizations, partly reconstructed on the common sense basis but not on a
theoretical level.
How to represent the mechanism of origin of state
theoretically? If to follow the
same Hempelian principles then it is needed to point
out general rules and conditions of regularities which lead to the processes
that make up the mechanism. Since the latter has clearly a complex nature, we
use a general analytic representation of the structure of social ontology and
consider the processes in each of ‘worlds’ (spheres of Being).
Social ontology constructed for conceptualization of
historical dynamics consists of four ‘worlds’ (in the sense of Popper): the
material world (biotehnosphere), psychosphere,
cultural sphere, and sociosphere [Rozov,
2002, Chapter 3]. Each sphere is
characterized by a special type of substances (physical objects, psychic
phenomena, cultural patterns and social structures, respectively).
Also, there are specific laws in each sphere. Organisms
of people, landscapes with the resources, food, clothing, shelter and weapons belong
to the material world. The effect
of (physical) constraint refers specifically to this sphere of being. The special configuration of the
natural landscape, i.e. an abundance of resources in the middle and barriers at the edges that prevent
escapement, drives several laws which, in fact, are common to human and
animal populations and are not intended to refer to any psychological, social
or cultural explanations.
First, the population concentrated in the areas of
resource abundance.
Secondly, in terms of the abundance the accelerated
population growth takes place.
Third, barriers to escape (physical barriers, steep resource gradient)
lead to the fact that the streams of migration do not compensate the continuing
population growth, resulting in increased population pressure, which is
expressed in a systematic lack of resources, increasing discomfort, trying to
capture resources and territory as source
of resources.
Appeal to the world of consciousness, psychics (psychosphere), and to the world of social interactions and
structures (sociosphere) is justified when you need
an explanation of a certain type of behavior or a certain strategy among several possible ones. In our case, the main interest is the
choice of strategy of conquest. In
fact, the demographic pressure, corresponding increase of resource scarcity, and general discomfort do
not automatically lead to attempts for conquests. There are few typical answers to the challenges of resource
scarcity:
1) ceremonial practices (call rain, prayers, communion with spirits, and so on.)
2) search for new types of resources in the same area, attempts
to use previously neglected resources;
3) invention and borrowing, allowing to compensate for
losses ("technical progress");
4) conservation of reserves, limiting consumption,
establishment of appropriate regulations;
5) practice of birth control;
6) search for new, more favorable locations, migration;
7) raids on neighboring communities for the purpose of
robbery;
8) attempts to gain from expulsion, the capture of a foreign
land, extermination or expulsion of the vanquished;
9) attempts to subordinate the conquered population.
Probably, in different places in different strategies
as 1-5 have been used, but they either did not give the effect of (1) or
provided only a temporary effect (2-4), or require too much social costs (3-5). The migration strategy (6) hampered as
a result of constrained situation (surrounded by almost impassable barriers). Raids
with robbery (7) are probably the most natural and common response strategy for
resource scarcity, as it provides a quick and tangible results, especially if people already has storage technology (so
there is something to rob); successful raids also contribute to social cohesion
and enhance the leaders’ prestige .
It is obvious that the raids and robbery is a mutual
practice. It leads not only to development of raids strategies, but also to security and defense
strategies (palisades, ditches, walls, patrol, and so on). Coalition-building, especially through
marriage, the expansion of kinship structures are ways to improve military
capabilities for defense and for attack.
Under these new conditions a successful raid can not
be limited only by robbery. There is also an urgent task to secure a settlement
from expected revenge
raids. New defense practices can
not be spontaneous, but they
require serious preparation, special ammunition, military training,
practices (rituals) for a group emotional excitement.
The usual egalitarian structure of small communities
(villages) is no longer suitable for this purpose. Military mobilization requires a
special, usually a vertical social structure, which was originally performed in
a clan with patriarchal relations, extended (socially constructed) fraternity, etc. Increasingly
complex functions of creation, collection and redistribution of military
resources (weapons, fortifications, food) lead to specialization. However, the specialization structures
of chiefdom, built mainly on kinship relations (real or contingent) under the
change of generations are crumbling and need for restoration. It seems probable an intermediate stage
between chiefdom and state structures where individual families and clans
specialize in a particular feature of military mobilization. This order was maintained and in very
late stages of statehood, for example, in a certain system of Russian ‘mestnichestvo’.
The Carneiro’s theory almost
completely lacks of cultural components, however, it is clear that the cardinal
historical transit to statehood could not occur without dramatic shifts in
cultural patterns (units of the culturosphere). The
state, like any other social institution can be sustained and preserved for
generations only accompanied with a complex of sacred symbols and new regular
rituals that actualize these symbols and maintain new social relations.
Features of symbols and rituals can be reconstructed from archeological and
anthropological data.
References
Carneiro, Robert. A Theory of the
Origin of the State // Science. 1970. Vol. 169. P.733 - 738.
Carneiro, Robert. The Circumscription
Theory: Challenge and Response // American Behavioral Scientist. 1988. Vol. 31.
P.497 - 511.
Carneiro, Robert. The Circumscription
Theory: a Clarification, Amplification, and Reforumluation
// This volume.
Collins,
Randall. Macrohistory: Essays in Sociology of the
Long Run.
Little, Daniel. Varieties of Social
Explanation: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Social Science.
Rozov, Nikolai S. Filosofia I Teoria Iistorii (Philosophy
and theory of history. Book 1. Prolegomena) Moscow, Logos, 2002.
http://www.nsu.ru/filf/rozov/publ/fti/.