expression, and is not infrequently directed by society into the display of bravery and
military skill in combat with foreign foes. As external competition becomes more acute,
or its material benefits more obvious, warriors increase their standing and authority in the
society. Some of these societies become warrior societies, as did Egypt, Assyria and
Sparta.
Not every successful social order is a warrior society, but those that are have
definitive advantages at this stage of historical development. The Mongols offer the most
striking example. A nomadic, illiterate people, they nevertheless conquered highly
developed, wealthy societies with much larger populations. Societies that use high levels
of agricultural surplus to support warriors, equip them with the best weapons the
technology of the day has to offer, and display a gift for organization expand their
domains, which provide the resources for father expansion. This is how great empires
like those of the Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Athenians and Romans come into being.
Successful empires do more than expand their territory. They foster internal
peace and economic development. They give rise to new classes, including wealthy
farmers, who control large tracts of land; producers of goods, like tanners and potters;
and merchants who sell produce and products at home and abroad. When permitted,
members of the new classes adopt the language, dress and values of the dominant elite,
and seek acceptance by it, and entry into higher political and social circles. Failure to
achieve acceptance or integration (more later, about the reasons for these outcomes), will
impede or foster a sense of group identity and self-confidence. The latter encourages
such classes, whose position is based on wealth, but increasingly also on public service,
to assert themselves and their values. Their success – which is far from pre-ordained –
marks the transition from spirit to interest-based worlds. Such a process takes place in
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Convention