Moses, according to the biblical narrative, had parted the seas. But was this leader of a persecuted flock good in Math? The noble soul had received the Ten Commandments on a mountain top. It now appears that there are only seven — and not ten — such strictures. A study published in Current Anthropology has found that seven moral codes are common across older cultures. Given their universality, these injunctions could well be looked upon as the first instance of thoughts that were ‘global’ in the truest sense of the term. It may even be beyond Moses’s magical abilities to challenge these findings: the data are quite comprehensive. A team from an institution in Oxford pored over 60 societies and 600,000 words from not less than 600 sources to arrive at this singular deduction. Significantly, not a single society that was studied has any record of challenging these seven codes of conduct.

As is often the case, quite a few beliefs that were taken to be holy grails now lie shattered. Take, for example, the idea that globalization — that rosy, but now troubled, notion of an integrated world — is of recent vintage. Modernity, it appears, simply borrowed and then refined a shared practice that informed the ancient world. Perhaps it is time to challenge the discourse that equates primitivity with primitive people and their thoughts. What makes matters worse for the champions of modernity is that these seven edicts, in fact, hold up a mirror to some of the shocking lapses that continue to be committed in this age of enlightenment. Does one share resources equitably any more? The wise ones had certainly decreed equality. Today, it has been estimated that the wealth accumulated by 1 per cent of the richest people is more or less equal to that owned by the rest of the world. What about the rule of respecting the property of others? Had this been followed in letter and spirit, conflicts — global, national or local — would not have broken out like an ugly rash. Then again, there was the shared endorsement of respect for elders. In India, it has often been left to the courts to accord dignity to, and end the persecution of, aged people left at the mercy of their families. Incidentally, helping the family happens to be another of those Seven Golden Rules.

What these moral ciphers signify is the primacy of cooperation in cultures that endured a difficult, fragile existence. Older cultures had worked out that the survival of the collective would ensure the survival of the individual. Hence the emphasis on collaboration. Apparently, the edifice of morality is not built on religious sanction but on the practical need of longevity. Has evolution trumped the Garden of Eden, once again? But even ironclad rules can turn rusty. The defiance of shared principles that had held societies together now threatens human society with implosion. To prevent this sorry end, some such ‘old fashioned’ wisdoms must be resurrected. Old Man Moses would agree.