44
Sovi
ets as they took control of the most populous country on the
planet--China. In 1956, Moscow ordered its tanks into Hungary, and
the U.S. didn't dare come to that country's defense. And in 1960, an
island nation just a speedboat ride from Miami declared its right to
throw its lot in with the Soviet Bloc.94 As the Russians rose in the
pecking order, their pool of friends increased. And as we sank, the
number of our faithful companions declined.
The cumulative result was a dramatic increase in the number of
Soviet allies and a drastic shrinkage in ours. During the early 50's our
friends in the United Nations were so numerous that any issue
submitted to a vote went resoundingly our way. By the mid-sixties,
frequently almost every nation voted against us.
For a superorganism, slips in the pecking order can produce
catastrophe. The Yanomamo--the "fierce people" of the jungles around
South America's Orinoco River--pride themselves on constant warfare.
Fighting is their way of life. But to make war, you need allies. Who
gets the most allies? The tribe on the top of the pecking order. And
who gets the least? The tribe on the bottom.
Like the chicken at the bottom of the pecking order, everyone
takes advantage of a trounced tribe's helplessness. Rival groups raid
the low-ranking clan over and over again. Enemies lay in wait by its
gardens. Knowing this, the shunned tribe is forced to hide out in the
jungle, where it can't get decent food. Succulent yams lay in the soil of
their garden plot, but these picked-on people can't even think of
digging them up. They know they'll be setting themselves up for
ambush.
Stronger tribes attack the group on the bottom to steal its
women. Knowing this, the men of the friendless clan remain
perpetually on alert. Slowly the tribesmen without allies grow more
starved and exhausted. Sometimes in the end they no longer have the
strength to survive 95. Deprived of friends, the tribe at the pecking
order's foot may finally disappear, its most desirable members and
<< < GO > >>