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To say the society of apes is socialist would be a oversimplification. As with humans, a pure socialist society isn't as stable as a mixed one. This is the case with societies such as those characteristic of chimpanzees, whose genome resembles ours by over 98%.
Within the society of chimps, you will find evidence of socialism, democracy, meritocracy, and despotism. Within the same society, you will see individual freedoms exercised in some aspects (foraging) and hierarchies strongly established in others (sexual reproduction). You will see community members working for the greater whole, as well as individuals with exclusive privileges pushing others to the fringes.
Like humans, chimpanzees have complex mentalities and therefore have complex societies.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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