Empire, Socialism, and the Ancient Near East

As I have been seeking to (re)construct the discursive world of the Neo-Babylonian Empire via royal inscriptions and other relia. What I'm finding is rather alarming in so far as I'm concerned. Various imperial programs in the ancient world dominated their populace in modes that, in my estimation, smack of socialist (albeit an extremely anachronistic term) theory. This may or may not be coherent to you, as I admit that my thoughts are unclear even to me exactly. However, my only point is that as I'm hearing the rhetoric and critically analyzing the history, it appears many ancient practices resemble, in form, certain modes of what would today be called socialist theory. Certainly, a Marxist analytic assists in so far as social stratification is concerned, but I am speaking more in terms of economic structures, lack of any trade or private enterprise, etc. What does this mean? Hell, I'm not sure! Neither is this what I'm searching for to begin with, nor a trail I have time to pursue in my quest. I merely chronicle the thoughts of an emerging biblical scholar with postcolonial sensibilities.