Why do we govern like baboons?

For most of recorded history, governance has been built around dominance hierarchies: chains of command, threats of punishment, and obedience. The assumed model is that survival requires control.

But what if that model is outdated? Worse — what if it was never ideal in the first place?

The Myth of the Fittest

Humans did not become the dominant species because we were the strongest, fastest, or even the smartest.

According to anthropological findings such as those discussed in Science (Australopithecus afarensis skeletal analysis), our ancestors were vulnerable, upright apes — poorly suited for combat, with no claws, no fangs, and little muscle mass compared to predators.

What set Homo sapiens apart wasn’t dominance. It was cooperation.

Governance as Mutual Aid

The most successful human societies weren’t run by the most violent or the most obedient. They were run by those who shared, signaled, and synchronized.

But somewhere along the way — especially with the rise of bureaucracies and nation-states — we replaced voluntary coordination with mandatory compliance.

Compliance is easier to scale. It’s also easier to corrupt.

The Baboons Within

Robert Sapolsky, in his study of primate behavior, offers a chilling parallel. He notes that:

"The leading cause of death among male baboons is other male baboons."

In other words, social stress — not food scarcity or predators — is the main killer.

When hierarchy is rigid and dominance is everything, individuals turn on one another. Governance becomes a stress amplifier.

Worse, baboons — like humans — are capable of genocide. Sapolsky observed that even in the absence of resource scarcity, baboon troops have wiped out neighboring groups. Simply because they could.

If we're modeling governance on what's "natural," we should be cautious. Nature includes cooperation — and cruelty.

From Compliance to Cooperation

The Sharp Method is not about optimizing authoritarian efficiency. It's about designing governance systems that reduce harm, increase trust, and reward feedback.

Instead of punishing failure, we can incentivize learning. Instead of rigid roles, we can create flexible functions. Instead of secrecy, we can enable auditable transparency.

This is not utopian. It’s practical. And it mirrors what allowed Homo sapiens to survive in the first place.

What This Looks Like

We don't need a return to the jungle. We need a new ecology of cooperation — one that doesn’t confuse compliance with virtue or dominance with wisdom.

Exit the baboon hierarchy. Enter regenerative governance.

Learn more at sharpmethod.org or subscribe for upcoming essays on governance as an ecosystem, not a cage.