0199 In order to lay out their theory of state, Graeber and Wengrow recall their three foundational expressions of freedom: (1) the freedom to move, (2) the freedom to disobey orders and (3) the freedom to organize (and adjust) social relations.

The authors ask (more or less), “Can we speak similarly about elementary forms of domination?”

0200 Recall the equilibrium exchange between freedom and property rights.  The concept of property rights seems to be the inverse of the concept of freedom, as seen in the following figure, which appears earlier in the commentary.

0201 The fact that these two are located in the category of firstness, the realm of possibility, means that they are a monad.  They are like two faces in one photo.  I do not think that I can name the foundational monad, but it must be as sacramental as a marriage.  Two faces are in one photo because they are married.  What God has joined, let no man tear apart.

0202 This union becomes more palpable when I ask, “How can property rights be violated?”

Well, the answer is the same as the question, “How can freedom be violated?”

The obvious answer is through force.  I can steal your property.  I can stop you from leaving.  I can force you into a social configuration.

The next obvious answer is through the mitigation of one’s ability to make a claim.  I can control your property through fraud and misrepresentation.  I can force obedience by denying your freedom to disobey commands.  I can change the meaning of the word, “ownership”.

The least obvious answer is through charisma.  I can seduce you into slavery.  I can destroy order through mob action.  I can demand your admiration.

0203 Who am I?

“I” am the state.  Did someone else say that?  Louis XIV of France?

Yes, “my” three principles are sovereignty (the control of violence), bureaucracy (the administration of information) and charisma (the appropriation of honor).  

0204 According to Graeber and Wengrow, each of these principles has served as a basis for state formation.  Access to violence, information and charisma define the very possibility of social domination.  The modern nation state is configured as a combination of sovereignty, bureaucracy and competitive politics.  Each elementary form of dominationhas its own historical origins.