The Human Swarm Summary

Why do we integrate millions into societies while still clinging to our tribal instincts? The answer lies in the markers that define us and the remarkable ways societies evolve.

1. Societies offer protection and cooperation but are often exclusive

Animals, including humans, form societies to share resources, ensure protection, and collaboratively rear young. This mutual cooperation allows group members to thrive. For example, meerkats babysit young from different families and provide food for them, showcasing this shared responsibility.

However, societies are inherently exclusive, offering benefits only to group members while outsiders are treated with suspicion. Vervet monkeys, for instance, can instantly recognize a foreigner not just in their society but even their specific community. This deep recognition ensures the group remains cohesive and secure against threats.

The exclusivity also acts as a natural cap to the size of most animal societies. Lion prides or wolf packs never grow too large because individual recognition requires significant brainpower. Human societies, however, have found a way to break these limits, organizing into far larger groups than any other mammal.

Examples

• Meerkats babysitting others’ offspring and tidying nests
• Vervet monkeys identifying outsiders to their group
• Wolf packs protecting cubs and working collectively against predators

2. Ants thrive in vast, anonymous societies

Ants, like humans, defy the constraints of knowing every individual member in their societies. In doing so, they create some of the world’s most populous and sophisticated systems. Leafcutter ants, for instance, run agricultural empires. They cultivate massive fungal gardens in underground chambers by collaboratively breaking down leaves to plant, grow, and maintain food sources.

Each ant in a colony has a designated purpose. Larger ants handle heavy work and defense, medium ones distribute resources, and the tiniest focus on precise tasks like weeding gardens. This division allows for extraordinary productivity while maintaining harmony.

Even waste disposal is efficiently managed. Leafcutter ants assign specific groups to remove waste and maintain airflow in their habitats. This shared sense of responsibility promotes the survival of their vast communities, resembling human infrastructure and societal roles.

Examples

• Leafcutter ants’ underground fungus gardens as a food source
• Defined roles for ants based on size, from guarding the nest to composting
• Waste disposal systems ensuring clean, efficient colonies

3. Humans and ants use markers to identify insiders and outsiders

Markers are a foundational aspect of many societies, both human and ant. Argentine ants in California swarm together peacefully within their colonies, but at the boundary between separate colonies, brutal warfare ensues. This division stems from each colony’s unique odor marker, which distinguishes insiders from foreigners.

Humans also rely on markers to identify one another, though in less instinctual ways. Flags, passports, and outfits like sports jerseys label us within groups. Cultural actions, such as how Germans and Italians gesture with their hands or eat meals, signal societal connections and reinforce identities.

Markers amplify unity among insiders while labeling outsiders as potential threats. This dual role protects societies but also reinforces division and hierarchy, traits apparent across human and animal groups alike.

Examples

• Argentine ants’ lethal battles at territorial borders
• Gestures like Italians’ expressive hand movements or regional eating customs
• The use of flags and national symbols to signify unity and belonging

4. Markers profoundly shape our brains and biases from birth

Humans are wired from infancy to categorize based on markers. At just three months old, babies show preference for faces resembling their own race, and even one-year-olds assume that others who share their language will also share their food preferences. These biases arise well before spoken language or cultural awareness develops.

Markers also drive how we empathize and remember. Studies show people recall faces of their own race more accurately than others. Similarly, empathy reactions lessen when people witness pain inflicted on those who look different from them.

These ingrained tendencies, while once beneficial for survival, explain modern challenges like prejudice. Pattern-based judgments that aided ancient societies in identifying allies or threats are today linked to exclusionary attitudes.

Examples

• Infants gravitating toward faces of their race
• Reduced empathy in studies where injected subjects are racially different
• Memory errors in eyewitness reports involving individuals of another race

5. Early hunter-gatherers shared societal structures and clear markers

Though their lives lacked modern complexity, ancient hunter-gatherer societies strongly identified with their groups. Bands of a few families would roam together, and their markers, like patterned beadwork or specific tools, signified membership.

Societies formed protective bubbles for their members. Aboriginal Australians would identify as Walbiri, contrasting themselves with outsiders. This strong identity extended to behavioral norms and solidarity within the group.

Hunter-gatherers also assigned symbolic power to markers. Moccasins, for example, displayed bead patterns traceable to a specific society, while cultural songs or tools were unique identifiers. Societies of the past, like today, organized themselves around shared identity.

Examples

• Aboriginals’ pride in Walbiri society over neighboring groups
• Plains Native Americans crafting society-specific moccasins
• Band members finding security with those sharing their culture and roots

6. Societies reinforce their belief in superiority

Most societies view their own group as superior. Tribes, ancient and modern, often refer to themselves as “real people” while labeling outsiders as lesser beings. Nations, too, show this pride; words like “Deutsch” in German mean “people,” excluding others by implication.

This worldview is ingrained and becomes part of societal identity. Americans value their individualism, while Chinese culture celebrates communal harmony. Each society places itself atop its hierarchy, confident in its way of life.

This superiority bias can also devalue outsiders. Historically, such beliefs have triggered prejudice or even violence, as seen in the atrocities of genocide or societal discrimination against minority groups.

Examples

• Native American tribes using names that mean “real people”
• Americans versus Chinese framing their societal values positively
• Hutu militants in Rwanda likening Tutsis to pests during war

7. Humans create uniquely adaptive and inclusive societies

Despite their biases, human societies excel at absorbing outsiders, an extraordinary trait compared to the xenophobia of other species. Immigrants, if deemed valuable or useful, are often welcomed. In ancient Rome, Caesar offered citizenship to scarce professionals like teachers and doctors.

Adaptation also occurs through cultural integration. Italian immigrants to the US assimilated by adopting local norms, eventually being seen as "white" or more American. Immigrants often compromise parts of their own identities while contributing to society’s progress.

Yet, tensions remain. During crises like 9/11, Muslim-Americans displayed American flags to affirm their societal inclusion, revealing the difficult balancing act for outsiders striving to belong.

Examples

• Roman policies extending citizenship to essential professionals
• Italian migrants in America shifting behaviors to fit societal norms
• Post-9/11 displays of loyalty among Muslim-American communities

8. Societies rise and fall but are always essential

History reveals that every society is temporary. The Mayan empire split into smaller societies after its decline, proving that while a single society may collapse, others inevitably take its place. Modern parallels include the fall of the Soviet Union, splintering into successor states.

Survival often depends on society’s ability to redefine itself under new circumstances. Fragmentation along ethnic or territorial lines ensures societal continuance even as empires dissolve. This shows that societies are more adaptable than static.

While globalization tempts people to envision a united human society, history proves that varied societies meet our deep need for contrast and difference.

Examples

• The Mayan empire’s split into 16 smaller kingdoms
• Ethnic-driven fragmentation of Yugoslavia post-collapse
• The persistence of societal contrast despite global unification efforts

9. Markers and outsidership will remain

Societies constantly redefine insiders versus outsiders to evolve. While some dream of a singular global society, all past evidence points to the enduring division between groups. Futuna Island in the Pacific maintained two rival societies for centuries, despite their shared geography.

Human experience thrives on distinction. Even with universal connections, identities centered on difference fulfill societal needs.

Markers will persist, as will the bonds and fragments they create. By learning to manage these divisions better, humans can foster coexistence without erasing identity.

Examples

• Futuna Island’s rival societies resisting unification
• Aboriginal societies maintaining distinct tribes after European arrival
• Ronald Reagan's musings on humanity uniting under alien threat

Takeaways

1. Embrace markers of cultural identity while recognizing their role in fostering both unity and division.
2. Promote awareness and education about biases ingrained from early childhood to reduce prejudice and exclusion.
3. Seek ways to integrate newcomers by valuing their contributions and fostering mutual understanding rather than assimilation alone.