I recently received a new batch of baby chicks. One of the things that I find intriguing about the chicks is how soon they establish a pecking order. They will bump their chests together to show dominance within their first weeks. Even without an adult chicken to encourage this trait, they establish a hierarchy on their own.
We humans also show this innate tendency. We tend to seek dominance in a dizzying array of options. Gender, religion, race, ethnicity, job classification, slavery, serfdom, wealth, aggression and a myriad of other distinctions are purposefully selected — or selected for us — for ...