Regarding the structure of H&G societies, I am prepared to accept that I am wrong, but you would have to provide more than just your statement that I am wrong.

As for my definition of government “conflating” it and governance, that is in one sense the point. Government cannot be separated from governance. It is inevitably a part of governance, the institutional means by which governance in society is accomplished. No society can exist without governance and governance cannot be accomplished within a community without a government in some form.

The only way around that is to assert, as Rousseau did, that it is the institutions of government that corrupt the inherently ‘good’ nature of human beings as individuals, such that doing way with government would usher in a Utopia. Yet, humans are by nature social beings; we live together in groups. Living together in groups inevitably, unavoidably entails the existence of institutions of governance —i.e. government.

I think that, like Rousseau, your problem is not government per se, but with the social nature of civilization, which began with and continues with hierarchies based on sheer ruthlessness and exploitative wealth enforced by government. The existence of government does not create societal injustice, but it can be used to perpetuate societal injustice. The task is to bring justice to the governance of governance, which would put government aright.