Five thousand years ago, humanity stepped into the abyss of “plunder through violence.”
The concept of “ownership”—which we now regard as a natural human right—originated in the idea that one could inflict any atrocity upon captives seized through violence. Enslavement—the act of severing all social ties and treating a human being as a mere object—lies at the very root of “ownership.”
In time, “taxes” emerged; it was deemed more efficient and less risky to extort protection money through threats than to seize assets through direct violence. (The high-minded rhetoric about collecting funds for the public good was merely a justification concocted much later.)
Records of lending and borrowing between individuals were originally nothing more than a way to create a reason to reconnect with people one knew. However, under a system of violent domination, this practice was transformed by the rule that “those who cannot repay their debts become slaves,” thus giving rise to debt slavery.
In a society founded on violence, even one’s family became the property of the household head. The head of the household held absolute authority; to ensure they were venerated as “great men” even after death, lineage was accorded special status, and systems were established to pass privileges down to descendants. To safeguard that lineage, female chastity was enforced through severe punishment; furthermore, despite the fact that humans are inherently interdependent beings, the ideal of “being independent and relying on no one” was instilled as a virtue.
At times, slaves staged life-or-death rebellions, slaughtering their masters.
This is precisely why the ruling class needed a “narrative” to suppress slave rebellions from within.
“An omniscient, omnipotent God created this world, sees all, and will deliver the Final Judgment. Therefore, you must endure your lot as slaves and continue to labor exactly as your masters command. If you do so, you will enter Heaven after you die.”
Eventually, the commandments of that God were rewritten as follows: “Whether or not you are saved is determined from the very beginning. Do not fret over such matters. Simply apply yourself to the calling God has bestowed upon you, live frugally, expand your business, and multiply your wealth.”
Naturally, justifying slavery required a ranking of human beings, leading to the creation of a “class” pyramid. Amidst a reality where the only difference between a free person and a slave was a stroke of bad luck, people began praying to God for good fortune. Yet, ironically, the more they prayed, the more they reinforced the bars of their own enslavement with their own hands.
Fundamentally, humans harbor an immense psychological resistance to killing one another. To carry out and legitimize large-scale plunder through violence, a “pyramid organization”—one that issued unquestionable orders from the top down—was essential. A fiction of the “hero” was constructed to justify this plunder, and the notion that “superior individuals deserve high rewards” gained currency. Furthermore, to protect oneself against violent retaliation, it was necessary to distribute substantial rewards to a loyal inner circle. While pyramid organizations born in this manner invariably become breeding grounds for corruption and stagnation, they have now become the standard model for virtually every group.
The inability to participate in the decision-making processes of the groups to which we belong is the very mark of a slave; yet, every four years, we are made to choose someone from a pre-selected list of candidates to whom we hand over a blank check of authority. That act alone creates the illusion that “we hold the power of decision.”
Meanwhile, slavery—an institution viewed by all as inhumane—faced constant criticism, and the cost of maintaining slaves as property was significant. Consequently, the ruling class devised a more expansive form of “indirect slavery.”
They began by forcibly converting common lands into private property, driving out those who had lived self-sufficiently and transforming them into wage laborers. Faced with the terror of starvation, they transformed into “free slaves”—people who could be exploited at will, yet remained immune to criticism.
The decisive blow came with the hijacking of the monetary system.
Goldsmiths in London realized that it was not the deposited gold itself, but the “deposit receipts” that circulated within society. They began a business of issuing and lending fictitious receipts—backed by nothing—to extract interest. This marked the birth of modern credit creation; eventually, the vast majority of the world’s money came to be issued as “debt created out of thin air.”
By creating a society where survival was impossible without cash, the masses were shackled to a destiny of working until death just to repay endless debt.
As various scientific and historical studies demonstrate, humans are inherently averse to inequality and strongly resist coercion. At the same time, we are beings who empathize with the pain of others, offer help without expecting payment, and cooperate for shared goals without seeking a return. We are creatures brimming with curiosity and a drive to explore; we hone our abilities through play, share knowledge, and seek the truth.
In Native American communities, mutual aid was the norm, so no one was ever forced to obey orders against their will. Neither slaves nor hierarchical pyramid structures were required to build Göbekli Tepe, the world’s oldest monumental site. In human societies beyond the reach of coercion backed by violence, decision-making has always relied on “deliberation involving everyone.”
Division and conflict are essential to domination; that is precisely why they are constantly manufactured, instilling mistrust and fear in the public.
Yet, even if one climbs the pyramid within the cage and reaches the summit, the cage itself does not disappear. As beings endowed with mirror neurons, humans possess a capacity for empathy so profound that we cannot completely separate ourselves from others. The notion that “there can be no individual happiness until the entire world is happy” is not mere sentimentality; it is an undeniable biological truth. A sense of superiority stands at the polar opposite of true happiness. Merely offering temporary charity or education to the oppressed—without changing the underlying structures—serves only to entrench the very problems at hand.
We inhabit a world where madness passes for common sense—a reality utterly divorced from the natural order intended by the Creator and from the essence of humanity itself.
“Amassing great wealth brings freedom.”
“Society thrives when the elite make all the decisions.”
These are nothing more than impossible illusions.
We must first confront the true nature of this cage of delusion. Only then can we take the first step toward a world without cages.
