For example, among the Greenland Norse -- a competitive rank society -- what the chiefs really wanted is more followers and more sheep and more resources to outcompete the neighboring chiefs. And that led the chiefs to do what's called flogging the land: overstocking the land, forcing tenant farmers into dependency. And that made the chiefs powerful in the short run, but led to the society's collapse in the long run.
举例而言，在格林兰岛的维京人， 那是一个极其争强好胜的社会，那个社会的首领们最想要的， 是更多的子民，更多的羊群和更多的资源，多多益善， 直到这些的数量超过了相邻部落的首领。这一风气的驱使下， 首领们纷纷行动，后世称之为“刮地皮”：他们过度积压土地， 强迫土地租用人成为附庸。这些举措， 短期内是使首领们的势力大为增加， 但却为随后整个社会的崩溃埋下祸根。