Softwar Chapter 4 Summary: From Tribes to Nation-States—How Humans Project Power
Below you will find a detailed summary of Chapter 4, “Power Projection Tactics in Human Society,” from Softwar: A Novel Theory on Power Projection and the National Strategic Significance of Bitcoin.
This chapter shifts focus from natural/animal power competition (explored in Chapter 3) to human power structures—from simple tribal societies to modern nation-states—and explains how humans deploy both physical and abstract power tactics.
Lowery shows that while humans rely heavily on laws, ideology, and social constructs, physical power remains the final arbiter of resource control.
Chapter 4: Power Projection Tactics in Human Society
4.1 Introduction
Lowery opens by observing how humans are “just animals with bigger brains and more elaborate rituals.” That means the same principles of power projection apply—humans must secure access to resources, compete with rivals, and deter aggression.
However, because humans have language and social structures, they develop abstract rules, beliefs, and hierarchies that differ from purely physical deterrence in the wild.
He stresses that you can’t ignore the role of physical confrontation altogether; these social constructs only work smoothly when backed by a credible threat of enforcement.
Recommended reading for more context: The author’s commentary on how cognition and symbolic reasoning give humans more ways to manipulate power hierarchies.
4.2 A Whole New World
In this section, Lowery highlights how humans’ advanced cognitive abilities led them to become apex predators. He frames this as an evolutionary quantum leap: once humans evolved to use tools and coordinate at scale, they could dominate entire ecosystems.
He notes that humans also gained the ability to create abstract realities—religion, ideology, currency, legal codes. These intangible constructs shape behaviors just as tangibly as physical threats do, but they don’t replace the fundamental need for physical power to enforce them.
Recommended reading for more context: Passages contrasting human social structures with simpler animal societies, stressing how symbolic thought drastically increases complexity.
4.3 How to Detect if Something is Real
Lowery considers how humans often rely on “shared belief” to define what’s “real” in a social or legal sense. He points out, however, that nature’s laws are different: they require no consensus, and “what is real in nature” is tested by physical cause and effect.
By comparison, humans sometimes treat intangible concepts (like “money” or “authority”) as reality because enough people believe in them.
But occasionally, illusions shatter when confronted by actual physical force—showing the difference between abstract and concrete forms of power.
Recommended reading for more context: The sections that highlight how physical confrontation can quickly upend carefully curated legal or financial constructs.
4.4 Evolution of Abstract Thinking
Here, Lowery delves into how humans learned to communicate and reason abstractly, which enabled them to coordinate larger groups and accomplish complex tasks (like building cities or waging large-scale wars).
Abstract thinking also produces abstract power structures—kings, priests, judges—who claim authority not through direct physical confrontation but through widely accepted narratives.
He uses historical examples to show how this capacity for abstract thought gave human societies competitive advantages over those who relied more on brute force alone.
Recommended reading for more context: The comparison of “regular power hierarchies” vs. “abstract power hierarchies,” which sets the foundation for understanding “who wields authority.”
4.5 Understanding Abstract Power
Lowery introduces the notion that “abstract power” is a shared fiction. It compels obedience through belief systems (laws, religion, social norms) rather than raw violence. However, these intangible constructs only remain stable if:
Enough people believe in them.
There’s a credible physical force to punish those who don’t.
He distinguishes real/physical power from imaginary/abstract power, reminding readers that the latter is more efficient (it avoids constant fighting) but also more vulnerable (it relies on trust and consensus).
Recommended reading for more context: Tables contrasting “Captain with real power” vs. “Judge with imaginary power” that illustrate how each type of power functions.
4.6 Creating Abstract Power
This section shows how humans set up abstract power hierarchies intentionally. For example, a society might put one individual in charge (a “king” or “god-king”) because, if the population believes this person holds a special right to rule, that society can unify more effectively.
At the same time, if people stop believing in the rightful authority of that king, or the king can’t physically enforce it, the system crumbles.
Lowery draws parallels between early theocracies and modern-day states—both rely on intangible mechanisms to coordinate large groups, but they rest on a bedrock of potential force.
Recommended reading for more context: The discussion of “abstract power creation” bridging from ancient pharaohs to modern judges, CEOs, etc.
4.7 Abstract Power Hierarchies
Lowery describes how human societies build layered, complex authority systems that revolve around official offices, legal structures, religious doctrines, and so on. These hierarchies are “virtual” in a sense—they exist because people collectively support them—but they govern tangible resources.
He references how laws, monetary policies, and bureaucratic structures allocate land, wealth, or privileges without direct fighting. But he again stresses that such systems are only as strong as their capacity to physically enforce or defend them when challenged.
Recommended reading for more context: Examples of hierarchical designs and what happens when they’re no longer backed by real force.
4.8 Dysfunctions of Abstract Power
In one of the more critical sections, Lowery details how purely abstract-power-based societies can become corrupt, oppressive, or dysfunctional.
If leadership positions are unaccountable, or if “abstract” authority is unchecked by the threat of losing in a physical confrontation, power can become absolute and easily abused.
This can spawn revolutions or external invasions when the population or foreign adversaries exploit the system’s vulnerability.
He shows how totalitarian regimes often arise by controlling abstract narratives—but are susceptible to violent overthrow if enough people reject that narrative and physically challenge the rulers.
Recommended reading for more context: The segment about how domestic oppression or foreign attacks can unravel “high-trust” societies that took centuries to build.
4.9 Emergent Benefits of Warfighting
Lowery pivots to the uncomfortable idea that war, while destructive, has historically “cleansed” dysfunctional societies by forcibly removing corrupt regimes or toppling illusions. In a grim sense, war is the ultimate fallback to real, physical power.
He points out that societies often unify around a shared identity in wartime, spurring technological progress and new social arrangements.
War’s fearsome efficiency can reset the system by letting new power players take over, presumably in a better arrangement—or at least a different one.
Recommended reading for more context: The examples or historical references to wars (e.g., revolutions, external conquests) that spurred new eras.
4.10 National Strategic Security
Here, Lowery applies the theme of power projection to modern nations. Sovereignty, alliances, and international relations all hinge on credible deterrence.
He describes how countries maintain militaries not because they want to fight but because they must be ready to physically stop or punish aggression if diplomacy fails.
Laws, treaties, and organizations like the UN are abstract-power frameworks that reduce the frequency of wars—but only insofar as major powers can physically back them.
Recommended reading for more context: The distinction between “energy-efficient” diplomacy vs. “energy-intensive” warfare as complementary solutions to global conflict.
4.11 Mutually Assured Destruction
Lowery explores how the nuclear era reshaped strategic security: states recognized that full-scale kinetic war between nuclear-armed rivals could become existential. Hence, they developed doctrines like Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD).
This arrangement ironically pushes states to find non-kinetic ways to project power and secure interests (e.g., proxy wars, espionage, or cyberwar).
He contends that proof-of-work systems may be the next big evolution in “non-kinetic power projection,” enabling deterrence without the risk of nuclear annihilation.
Recommended reading for more context: Lowery’s framing that nuclear brinkmanship forced humanity to seek ways to impose physical costs on adversaries without going nuclear.
4.12 Humans Need Antlers
Closing the chapter, Lowery revisits his “antlers” metaphor from nature. He posits that humans, too, need a credible, costly display of deterrent “power” that avoids lethal conflict.
Historically, that’s been large standing armies, advanced weapons, etc. But he suggests that in the modern digital era, we might find a non-lethal “antler display” in some technology that imposes real cost—like a “proof-of-power” or proof-of-work protocol.
This segues directly to Chapter 5, where he explores how Bitcoin can fulfill this role in cyberspace.
Chapter 4 Summary
In Chapter 4, Lowery surveys how human societies build complex abstract power structures—laws, institutions, ideologies—to manage resources and maintain order more efficiently than raw violence.
Yet, he shows that those structures rely ultimately on physical enforcement. If abstract power becomes too centralized, corrupt, or unresponsive, people resort to violent revolution; if external powers sense weakness, they may invade.
Thus, physical power remains the real backbone of any stable society, even if it’s hidden under laws and norms. He points to how nuclear-age deterrence forced innovation in non-kinetic forms of conflict—an opening he believes Bitcoin’s proof-of-work can fill as an “antlers-like” show of force in the digital realm.
Sections to Revisit for More Depth
4.3 / 4.4 (Real vs. Imaginary Power) – Explains the dividing line between physical and abstract power, crucial for understanding the rest of the thesis.
4.8 Dysfunctions of Abstract Power – For a nuanced take on how total reliance on intangible authority can breed corruption or vulnerability.
4.9 Emergent Benefits of Warfighting – Lays out why war, though awful, sometimes brings about necessary systemic resets.
4.11 Mutually Assured Destruction – Summarizes the post–World War II strategic landscape and why the search for non-kinetic (or “soft”) forms of conflict has become urgent.
4.12 Humans Need Antlers – Draws a clear line back to the nature analogy from Chapter 3, setting up Chapter 5’s application to cyberspace.