ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the process of political evolution over the very long term. The political scientists, Albert Somit and Steven Peterson, insist that the historical rarity of democracy can be laid at the feet of human nature: people are naturally inclined to lord it over others, as well as to obey when they are in a subordinate position. The chapter looks at the nature of the human penchant for power seeking. Power seeking is likely less common than status seeking, but it exists in every society. A state is a type of political society in which the ruling powers maintain a monopoly over the means of violence. Archaeologists who specialize in the study of the earliest states sometimes refer to them as civilizations, using the terms interchangeably. The Harappan civilization was probably organized as a state, but this is by no means certain since "not a single temple or palace has been uncovered, not a single royal tomb excavated.
