Population size isn’t the issue. Population mobility is the issue. In a globalised world where you can more or less easily cross whole continents and with a society that requires you to regularly move across the country for “new jobs” or whatever, you inevitably are less connected to the thousand people in your birth village.
Even in one location it’s a big issue. When even a small city has more than 10k people, the people with resources might not personally know those who don’t have them.
You don’t need to personally know them. But having to rely on local structures does wonders. If people had to walk or maybe bicycle to the nearest supermarket or couldn’t commute 40km in half an hour, I’m sure the local structures would look very different. There have always been markets.
Human population grew past the point where direct individual mutual help was a sustainable way of keeping social cohesion.
… by 1500 BC (look up the battle of Megiddo between Egypt and Kadesh).
I’d say any warfare is an indicator of the population being too big for mutual aid to provide social cohesion.
Population size isn’t the issue. Population mobility is the issue. In a globalised world where you can more or less easily cross whole continents and with a society that requires you to regularly move across the country for “new jobs” or whatever, you inevitably are less connected to the thousand people in your birth village.
What does that mean?
Stupid autocorrect. Hope it’s fixed now.
I thought you’ve been poetic with “intravenous village” as in “village you was born and it’s in your veins”
Autocorrect poetry… Still better than slop poems.
Even in one location it’s a big issue. When even a small city has more than 10k people, the people with resources might not personally know those who don’t have them.
You don’t need to personally know them. But having to rely on local structures does wonders. If people had to walk or maybe bicycle to the nearest supermarket or couldn’t commute 40km in half an hour, I’m sure the local structures would look very different. There have always been markets.