Pierre Clastres

"Primitive societies are societies without a state, not societies before the state."

"Power in archaic societies is the power to give, not the power to command."

"The chief's authority rests entirely on his generosity and his word."

"Exchange, not domination, is the foundation of primitive social bonds."

"Hierarchy emerges only when men cease to resist it."

"The refusal to work is the first form of freedom."

"Civilization accumulates; it does not liberate."

"The primitive world knew how to prevent the emergence of the despot."

"Writing serves to accumulate power, not knowledge."

"The invention of the state marks the division of society into rulers and ruled."

"Anthropology reveals what we have lost in becoming 'civilized'."

"Society's job is to prevent power, not to produce it."

"The tribe resists what the nation-state demands."

"Coercive power requires invisibility; it hides behind law and custom."

"In archaic societies, the division of labor does not create classes."

"The elderly are honored not for their knowledge but for their presence."

"Gift-giving prevents the accumulation of power."

"Equality is maintained through constant vigilance against domination."

"The primitive chief speaks for the community; he does not rule it."

"Violence becomes systematic only with the state."

"Society is the human answer to the problem of power."

"We have exchanged autonomy for security and gained neither."

"The state's monopoly on violence is its defining characteristic."

"Reciprocity is not merely economic; it is the basis of all social life."

"Tradition preserves freedom by limiting ambition."

"The shaman's power is consultative, never coercive."

"In primitive societies, difference does not create hierarchy."

"The community, not the individual, is the primary social unit."

"Laws emerge to control behavior that custom once regulated."

"Abundance in archaic societies comes from limited desires, not infinite production."