Lewis Mumford

LewisMumford (1895-1990) was an author who wrote books on cities and modern life.

(For more see for example http://www.nd.edu/~ehalton/mumfordbio.html.)

The City in History, written by him in 1961, describes the evolution of the city from earliest times. In the early part of the book, he describes the accommodation between hunters and pastoralists, which starts as a coming together of equals and ends with one group, the hunters, claiming superiority and tribute from the other group. They set themselves up in a citadel near the emerging town.

This seems to me to have a bearing on the discussion on PowerVersusAuthority when it comes to the question of what is the origin of any authority. -- JohnFletcher


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