Thinking a bit more about your government-related examples, it seems like one problem is that you don’t specify how exactly the notion of “exploiting” translates from the animal world into human relations. Those forms of exploitation that are a clear analogy of animal predatory behavior (e.g. robbery and plunder) are normally illegal in any organized human society and done openly only by rogue criminals. When they’re done by organized and persistent structures, rather than outlaw individuals, they’re typically given a pretense of a mutually beneficial relationship (e.g. extortionists claiming to sell “protection”).
And, of course, ‘taxation’. It does seem that all the exploitive groups (such as the government and mobs) put a lot of work into preventing other groups from having similar relationships with their prey.
And, of course, ‘taxation’. It does seem that all the exploitive groups (such as the government and mobs) put a lot of work into preventing other groups from having similar relationships with their prey.