this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
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[–] trxxruraxvr@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (3 children)

Except for farmers humanity has gone quite a long time without them

Edit to clear up confusion about the wording: I meant that we need farmers, the rest not so much

Only in the professional sense, medicine and engineering as concepts of let's not have these people die of what we know to be preventable has been around a lot longer than agriculture.

[–] RogueBanana@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I am not sure what your point is. Society will collapse if all the farmers stop doing their work. Seems pretty important to me.

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I read it that way first as well but I think it's intended the other way: "for everyone except farmers" ...

[–] edgemaster72@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Yeah, I believe the intended reading should have a comma after farmers, which would clarify that "them" at the end of the sentence is only referring to engineers, police/fire/ambulance, teachers, etc...

EDIT: actually now that I think about it I don't know that a comma alone would fix it, but I still support the comma there.

[–] RogueBanana@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 days ago

Yeah, I am not a native speaker but I think it could been a comma and clarify who "them" would be as in this sentence "them" would be farmers, not others.

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The romans had engineers and fire fighting crews. Nearly every society has had some kind of police/army/guard to enforce laws. Farmers actually opened the door to most other jobs/careers because people didn't have to rely on themselves to grow or collect their own food which left more time to become an engineer, learn math, become a salesman or any other job that could be filled.

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Nearly every society has had some kind of police/army/guard to enforce laws.

Big citation needed here. Many societies didn't have a professional army but rather armed citizens who went to war when needed and had other occupations otherwise. See for example the second amendment which wanted a "well regulated Militia" instead of a professional army. Also this is different from a police force which isn't universal either. Many watch each other or have rotating shifts or something which isn't the same as a police that necessarily stands above the law to enforce it.

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

this link goes into light detail of how laws were written and enforced in ancient times, starting with tribal or clan based blood fueds and eventually turning to a more societal run and funded system.

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 0 points 2 days ago

Very light detail. Even wikipedia is more critical and names the slave patrols as origin of policing in the US. Your source outright equates law and police which is very problematic. You can have a law and sets of rules in an egalitarian society with a nightwatcher system or something and no armed police force. According to wikipedia:

Up to the early 18th century, the level of state involvement in law enforcement in Britain was low. Although some law enforcement officials existed in the form of constables and watchmen, there was no organized police force.

So police isn't as common place as your source makes it seem.

I haven't read it yet but James Scott wrote a book about societies in southeast Asia without government who don't "turn bloody quickly" whatever that might mean. Also Worshiping Power is a book I have read that's topical enough.