- Saying these societies are egalitarian implies that individuals of both sexes (and in many cases without even taking sexual distinction into account), are considered equal.
- A social system based on kinship implies that, from birth, an individual's social world and his position within it are defined by kinship.
Kinship links members of a society into a network of social security which ensures that their basic material and emotional needs will be taken on by others (whenever necessary and possible, of course). Though these factors may appear very simple, they are part of the social structure and even more fundamental when these societies have to face changes and development.
The leader is responsible for the community's well-being and is therefore the one who has to distribute most wealth. Influential positions are maintained by being as subtle as possible in maintaining a consensus within the group.Despite the fact that this is a true democratic system (though without elections), this type of leadership and the process of decision-making that goes with it, often make it difficult for the members of a community to agree over problems that are beyond their own experience and to trust a representative or spokesman with their requests.
Another problem is due to the fact that the village may only be an administrative division that has no connection whatsoever with an endogenous reality. It is therefore often difficult for a stranger to work out who might be representing the group. Arousing group consciousness and developing some form of group representation to deal with the outside world can be a long and laborious process. The career of leaders can be very brief indeed, and they then return to being ordinary group members. The levelling process regulating leadership often implies that communities are split up into groups, each representing itself, and they do not necessarily rally when one particular group makes a decision.