Eh, kinda true? Some egalitarian societies had no cops, many did in some way, shape, or form. I don’t have the means to provide links as sources but they’re out there… Many egalitarian societies had some form of “law” enforcement (“law” in quotations being not just the written-law the Western world is familiar with but cultural codes of conduct and the natural social contract) but had wildly different approaches to it. One society I’ve read about had seasonal rotations for the role of “police” as no one person could hold that position of authority indefinitely - thereby the abusive authoritarian cop would likely find themselves on the other side when their victims now hold the badge, so better be on your best behaviour when it’s your turn.

Some societies would have the cultural practices of ritualistically beating and humiliating their politicians and police on a regular basis, parading them down the streets in clownish makeup while flogging them sticks and whips, pelting them with rotten food and excrement, as a reminder to these people of their place in society and who they work for. If you were a popular or well-liked politican or cop, the people would feel bad and go easy on you. Makes one think twice about taking on those roles, better be on their best behaviour if they do… A far cry from how we do things nowadays. Not full egalitarian by any means, even if many other practices were egalitarian.

It’s shaky ground to classify cultures or societies as “egalitarian” as societies aren’t that simple. They’re a wild and colourful carnival of social experiments (at least they used to be.) Some societies were egalitarian on seasonal rotation as well, switching back and forth between egalitarian to brutal authoritarian. It’s also similar to when people say “egalitarian societies only work in small populations,” as there’s very little evidence to be convincing either way. Some egalitarian societies were small, some were enormous and spanned continents. In fact, most egalitarian societies were large and you often find strict, hierarchical authoritarianism in smaller groups - especially within families and households. Some hierarchical, authoritarian societies didn’t have police either.

Not saying that’s what you were saying, but it’s more for other readers to not confuse such ideas as “Egalitarian = No cops” or “Egalitarian = No money” etc. Truth is we can have whatever society we want, they’re all just playground rules at the end of the day. The ultimate truth is we choose the society we want every day with our actions, the way we treat others, and our politics. The State is just copium for people who wish to believe someone or something is in control, when in reality we live in a perpetual state of anarchy.

Genuinely curious, do you have an example of this? The only ones I could find were very small scale.