The Role of Society in Human Survival

Life’s motivation is survival. Not as individuals – our physical fragility and durability limit that – but as a species. It is our genes that must go on. They are the basis of our being and it is they that have the capacity to survive into the future.

For this reason, they are the driving force of our existence.

As a species we, as do all species, have sought to develop in a manner that has enabled us to fight off the harshness and savagery of Nature. Initially, this was through individual change. Genetic mutations occurred which were identified as advantageous in the prevailing environment and which were then adopted as adaptations.

Singular mutations that had beneficial appeal were able to gain a foothold in our genetic make-up, spreading throughout the population.

Our genetic adaptation outpaced that of changes in our environment and we were therefore able to stave off Nature’s constant pressures and challenges. We were able to ensure our survival as a species.

Then, at some point in our evolutionary development, humanity hit on the idea of cooperation and community. There were substantial gains that could be made by collaborating with one another. By living together we, as a species, could be stronger, more resilient and better able to fend off the forces of Nature.

It is at this point that we embarked on a developmental course that diverges from most other species.

A societal existence slowly emerged.

Living together meant that we could better provide for ourselves. The individual was less exposed, less isolated, less vulnerable. And with this greater protection for the individual, our genetic station could be secured.

Society stopped humanity from becoming an endangered species.

Since discovering this competitive advantage, we have sought to maximise its effectiveness and usefulness by extending and expanding society’s role and reach.

Humanity eagerly embraced the development of society. It meant that, in our relationship with Nature, we had more security, greater prosperity, more freedom. Our survival and well-being was much more assured.

And, like the casino gambler on a lucky streak, we have rode this wave of good fortune. We have pushed society to do more and to do it better. And why not? Why wouldn’t we try to get as much out of it as we can? Why would we change something that is working for us?

Such is the case that society has become an essential requirement for our on-going survival. All-pervasive, all-encompassing and all-powerful. It is unlikely that we, either individually or as a species, could survive without it.

Society, besides securing our continued survival, has enabled humanity to achieve all that we have. We dominate our planet and face very few threats to our existence. It’s a state of affairs that we should be very pleased with.

There is, however, a lurking danger that we do need to be aware of.

Undoubtedly, we have become dependent on society for our survival, even for our daily existence. We just cannot manage without it. Sustenance, shelter, healthcare, safety are all provided through society. As individuals, we contribute little to our plethora of on-going needs.

This marks a significant change in our relationship. Society used to be our vehicle, our means to survive, but now, with our dependence upon it, it has become the end in itself. The balance of importance has shifted.

The position and well-being of the individual has become secondary to that of the maintenance of society. Our priorities have changed. For the good of the species, the survival of society matters more than the survival of the individual.

We need to recognise and accept this dependence. We then need to act accordingly, ensuring that individuals do not detrimentally affect the role and actions of society for, in doing so, we put in jeopardy our human survival.

Whereas society used to look after us, now we must look after society. Whereas society used to serve the interests of the individual; now the individual must serve the interests of society.

There is, it seems, a greater good – the continuation of society – for that is what is keeping us alive.

Society must be maintained at all costs. Challenges to society – such as breaking the law or failing to make a contribution – endanger society and thereby threaten the existence of humanity.

Given this new prioritisation of society, individuals, if necessary, may have to be sacrificed – corrected, over-ruled or ignored. Individual rights and freedoms may have to be restricted – diluted, constrained or even eliminated. It is for the good of humanity. It is necessary for our survival.

This is something that we, as individuals, are finding it difficult to accept. We are more inclined to think that, with society gaining in strength, this should grant us greater individual freedom and control, enabling us to recognise more forms of individuality and to become greater proponents of individual rights.

This is a misguided, perilous approach. The status of the individual has been diminished. It’s society that matters now. We should therefore be doing more to uphold society rather than seeking to further enhance our individuality.

By overly focussing on the individual we weaken society and thereby endanger humanity.

The problem is that we tend to over-rate ourselves. We are too full of our own self-importance. Perhaps, given our on-going, sustained success, this is understandable. We’ve no experience of failure or setback so why would we think that things might go wrong?

We are like a highly skilled and experienced employee who, confident of their expertise, makes ever greater demands of their employer or takes increasing liberties with their work routines and performance, believing that they are indispensable to the organisation, that their employer could not operate without them.

Rarely are they as valuable and essential to the organisation as they think they are. Redundancies, dismissals, re-structuring happens and, in most cases, the organisation continues to function effectively.

The employee, even the important ones, are just a cog in the machine.

The survival and prosperity of the organisation – given the size of its total work force – is far more important than the rights, well-being, remuneration and working conditions of any single employee.

For this reason, if an employee is having a negative, damaging or non-contributory impact on an organisation then that individual has to be dealt with – retraining, disciplinary action, dismissal. Individuals cannot be allowed to drag an organisation down or hold an organisation back.

We recognise and accept this in our economic undertakings but we have not, as yet, come to terms with it in society.

Nothing should be allowed to undermine or threaten society.

To be a part of society means we have to live by society’s rules. Those that break society’s rules, those that don’t contribute to society, those that under-perform, those that do not embrace societal living need to be dealt with.

To break the rules of society is to challenge the very existence of society which is tantamount to an attack on humanity.

Frankly, if we don’t play by the rules of the game then we should not be allowed to play the game.

Leniency, tolerance, clemency are all acts of weakness that suggest we have lost sight of our need for society. Erroneous priorities.

Societal robustness matters more than our individual well-being. After all, society has become the bedrock of our existence. The dominance of the individual has been subsumed by the need to maintain society, by the prioritisation of society. It’s a shift in position, a reversal of a previously established order. It is a change that we need to comply with, a change that is necessary for the survival of our species.

Society used to be a tool for human survival; now we have become tools for its survival.

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