Characteristics of Civilizations

Emergence of permanent elites and inheritable wealth and power gives much wider scope of control.

Greater investment in mode of production, less capacity of population to flee. Hegemonic ideology reinforces power of elites.

Contributions become taxes, rights to natural resources become restricted, food producers become peasants, chiefs become kings.

Size of bureaucracy increases and at some point dis-economies of scale take over: more bureaucrats but less production increasing numbers fight over decreasing resources state breaks into smaller factions but because they are small, they cannot support a powerful elite role or elite diminishes and system breaks down.