Finally had time to read what you wrote. My first thought is it's depressing. The layers built have been left in ruins. We don't go to war because bread and circuses now. Back then they kept order through leadership, taking risks, etc. In my own life I see a motivation to make everyday tasks more efficient so that I spend less time and energy on them, and have more for greater pursuits. This seems to be how any animal works, if its basic needs are met it's not going to be attacking other animals etc. We just have far greater capacity to build layers and make basic needs easier to meet. All the animal stuff we're capable of, and it has its place as a fallback when our brain isn't getting things done. Machines we design also have fallback mechanisms like this when the more intelligent ones fail.