tl;dr: The agricultural revolution caused extreme distress to humanity — a trauma with severe consequences that we still inherit to this day. I think it is time to collectively reflect on which protective control mechanisms we still need and which are rather harmful.
Epistemic state: Highly speculative, but seems plausible to me.
For almost all of our history, homo sapiens were nomads. Today, we can't really say much about how they lived, but, according to some historians, some things seem likely: We used to live in groups of a few dozen people that constantly moved from place to place, living from whatever the huge variety of nature had available to give. Whenever they met another group, this often resulted in celebrations, and members could and would switch groups. In this way, an individual could have met hundreds of other people. Everything was shared, even the nurturing of the group's youngest. Working hours ranged probably somewhere around 20 to 30 hours per week. Warfare between groups was very rare, as was extreme power inequality. Indeed, violence was mostly interpersonal, and people were downright allergic to inequality. Decision were made by the whole group, leadership was temporary and only put in place with a specific goal. Individuals who started offending or abusing were shamed upon, or, if necessary, left behind or executed. Thus, we are basically socially selected for friendliness. Forms of religion existed, but they were very different from what religion is today.
Then, roughly 12000 years ago, something happened that should change humanity's future forever. Some groups settled down, for example in the Nile delta, because it was very easy to grow crops there. They started to build houses, farm livestock, and suddenly could feed many more children. But this seeming paradise was a trap. After a while, they became so many that food was not sufficient for everyone anymore. Some people had to move to territory where it was harder to grow crops. Not long after that the first wars started. At some point, there were just too many humans to nourish. Famine hit large parts of the population. Simultaneously, the permanent closeness to domesticated animals was the perfect incubator for new human diseases. People suddenly found themselves in extreme distress. And there was no way back: They were too many and much of the nomads' knowledge was already lost anyway.
Why do I tell this history lesson? I think it has to tell something important about our society today. For this, I want to turn for a moment to a seemingly completely different topic: trauma.
A (mental) trauma is like a physical injury, but in the mind. Some wounds heal quickly, some leave scars behind, and some need much attention to really heal. A trauma is a permanent psychic wound. Permanent wounds usually lead to protective behaviors by the people who carry them. Common protective reactions to mental traumas in humans include addictions, denial, emotional numbing, aggression, or withdrawal. A severe trauma often ingrains specific beliefs, memories, and behavioral responses deep into the brain. If the environment changes significantly, these beliefs and responses, as well as the protective mechanisms, might not be adaptive anymore, and can be actively harmful to the carrier and its environment. In fact, through an unchecked chain of reasoning and delusion, truly horrific strategies can appear. Traumas can even be socially inherited. Because they are so deeply ingrained, well protected, and painful, they might be hard to notice and really uncomfortable to investigate. The good news is healing trauma is possible. Memories and beliefs can be carefully unveiled, revisited, and corrected.
Everything set in place, here is my hypothesis: The massive distress experienced by our ancestors during and after the agricultural revolution caused a humanity-wide collective trauma that is inherited to this day. Just like in individuals, control mechanisms were urgently needed to protect our very existence. Hierarchies were put in place, organizing the chaos top-down. Governments, patriarchy, and slavery were the result. Excessive use of shame seemed not sufficient to secure the new order, so additionally law and military were invented. New narratives were invented and spread: Private property, money, state identities, and religion helped to keep order and the powerful in power. In short: Civilization was born.
Assuming this birds-eye view on humanity's history is even only very roughly in the right direction, this has strong implications for us today. Luckily, we have developed the necessary skills to overcome the original horror by now: Our crops today yield enough to feed billions of people, health care and vaccines help to heal and even stop diseases, and wars affect less and less parts of the world's population. Just to be clear, this doesn't mean that these problems are completely solved yet. The distribution of wealth, and with it food and access to health care, is still highly unequal, group enmity is still a widespread phenomenon, and modern technology, despite of all the solutions it delivered to our problems, poses significant risks, even existential dangers in itself.
Especially in the face of our current problems, I think it is time to collectively reflect on which of the protective strategies are still useful and which we should better change. As in individual humans, the protective mechanisms can be more harmful than helpful to the carrier and its environment, especially if the original problem it sought to protect from doesn't exist anymore. We might not need such a firm control anymore to secure our existence today. In the comparably more recent past, humanity already reacted by introducing (proto-)democracies, curbing patriarchy, and widely banishing slavery, essentially giving power back to the formerly more oppressed. Do we really still need extreme inequalities and status hierarchies? 50-hour weeks and marriage? Top-down government and management? Religion and private property? I don't know all the answers either, but I think we should talk about it.
To this day, the belief that humans need control to "behave civilized" due to their impulsive and selfish nature is pervasive and often institutionalized (think of schools, authorities, prisons, etc.). And this belief is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we expect others to be selfish, greedy, and untrustworthy, they will mirror these expectations and become exactly that. In reality however, humans crave safety, belonging, and fulfillment, not inequality and violence. Sure, (seemingly) shameless, power-addicted humans do exist and they are unfortunately sometimes very successful, given the nurturing ground we provide for them. But they are also very few and many of them urgently need help. Look around! If you talk to them, most people are actually kind and want to help. Also, look deeply into yourself: Don't you want a better future, too? Even prisons, to which we send the most "evil" criminals, release much kinder, safer people if the inmates are treated humanely. If we take a deep look at ourselves and each other, a joyful together is possible, even on a global scale.
I know, letting go of control is scary. Very scary. But a system knows itself best what it needs and how to heal itself. Let it heal. It is the only way to actual freedom.