Abstract
Abstract
The authors’ process-based framework, while analytically compelling, undermines the case for retaining society-level classifications. If egalitarian mechanisms are modular and domain-specific, they operate within nominally hierarchical societies as readily as egalitarian ones. Within-society structure is likely the more useful unit of analysis for understanding how leveling dynamics operate. The authors’ definition remains underspecified. Abandoning the society-level label sharpens the framework.