Tao Te Ching

After c. 2.5 million years of hunting and gathering, humans began the Neolithic, the Agricultural Revolution. Animals, wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, barley and millet became domesticated creating huge changes in culture and the creating of what we call civilization. This revolutionary transition began very slowly and—in some ways—continues today. Agriculture dramatically increased populations but also weaker the physical and mental toughness of communities making them vulnerable to the hunter-gatherer remnants surrounding them and now called "barbarians." This created an often-repeated pattern of the more wild and aggressive nomads becoming stronger, attacking the settled peoples, taking over, and becoming the kings and aristocracy. They in turn succumb to the weakening forces of civilization's comforts, luxury, and another more barbaric but stronger wave of conquerors. These "barbarians" became today's political, religious, corporate leaders, the "1%."
The rest became the middle, the lower, the working classes. With historic irony, women began agriculture while the men were out hunting but then, because of it, lost their dominance with the shift from matriarch to patriarchy brought about by the new demands of settling in one place. This irony extended far beyond the war-of-the-sexes power shift as populations grew exponentially while the conditions they lived under rapidly deteriorated.
From the perspective of materialistic progress, the Agricultural Revolution was a great leap forward. From the point of view of diversity—plant and animal life, individual freedom and happiness—it can easily be characterized as a disaster.

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