Notes on a Fable Series on the Structure and Development of Society

For thousands of years humans have been learning about themselves and the world through stories. This type of learning is more foundational than any other, and will continue as long as humans are humans.

There are two foundational types of stories that give humans ethical, moral, and spiritual truths: fables and parables. Fables normally deal with animals, plants, or objects that can talk like humans, and parables deal with things people are familiar with. Both are used to make a point. The best example of a fable maker is Aesop from ancient Greece, and the best example of a parable maker is Jesus.

The simple power of these stories, that can be insightful and useful for thousands of years, and can explain lessons in a few paragraphs that dozens of books can't, is amazing.

I think there is a fable situation that can be developed to help explain most of human society, including economics and politics, using three animals: wolves, sheep, and dogs. These archetypes naturally correlate with Eric Berne's concept in transactional analysis of the persecutor, victim, and rescuer. 

The sheep are the most numerous, and the obvious victims. The wolves want, and do, kill and eat sheep. The dogs work to protect the sheep. However, the levels of complexity to be developed here are immense.

I've already played with some of it. I wrote one about the sheep judge letting the wolves go repeatedly and that leading to more sheep deaths. I wrote one about the sheep removing their own protection and making them easier prey.

The sheep can start as simple victims. But, over time they can develop industry and governance. They can process their own wool into clothes and trade it. This mercantile industry can develop into greater forms of industrialization and capitalism, with evolving culture on the importance of industry and work. They would need government for this. There can be elections, monarchy, police, judges, term limits, campaign donations, foreign influence, propaganda, etc.

Wolves are just predators at first. But, as the sheep develop industry and governance the wolves will also have to adapt. They can buy clothes from the sheep and make the case that they should be tolerated. They can work to run the wool industry, get themselves elected, and receive government benefits because of their inequality in not having natural access to wool of their own.

Dogs are naturally the protectors, but it's easy to see how they would be mistaken for, or could become, persecutors of the sheep. They could run a protection racket and extort the sheep, or call it taxes. There can be both, one through a government and one through a mafia. They could team up with the wolves. Some of the sheep may be in on it too. Dogs can also get involved with the wool industry, elections, and government benefits.

These are real problems that people have to deal with in every level of society throughout history. School and news propaganda doesn't help in understanding these issues. By the time people are adults many are so deluded that they aren't able to correct their obvious delusions about basic societal issues. Introducing these ideas in this format is natural for humans to do as story tellers and story listeners, helping to lay a foundation for understanding politics and economics in future generations.

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