Earlier quoted context omitted.
wengrow & graeber's recent research shows plenty of evidence (post discovery of agriculture and well beyond dunbar's number), that's a good place to start with your question. tangentially, mark fisher is also good for unpacking what you've said
Thanks for pointing me to wengrow & graeber. I've not read the book, but went through the summary on wikipedia which seems pretty good. It's interesting and I don't have any problem with the claims or conclusions in the summary, butI don't really see how it critiques capitalism. It talks about the fact that progress isn't linear and that societies don't inevitably become more hierarchical, and I agree that seems righ…
mark fisher doesn't deny economy, he takes a materialist perspective on it. his book 'capitalist realism' is probably a good starting point (i've only read his other works, that one is supposed to be a concise read of his thesis)
cheers for taking the time to broaden your perspective