The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution

“Imagine a group of tribes living within reach of one another. If all choose the way of peace, then all may live in peace. But what if all but one choose peace?” From this basic premise, Andrew Bard Schmookler has built a towering work of intellectual and spiritual insight, a book that will shatter many preconceived notions about how civilization has developed and why human history has been so filled with torment. In this new edition, Schmookler shows how, with the end of the Cold War, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to solve the problem of power that has plagued civilization.

The Parable of the Tribes is a new vision of the story of humankind. It presents a radiant new synthesis of history, evolutionary biology, political theory, and psychology.