> the vast majority of people who live in a capitalist society today live better lives today than the vast majority of tribe members did back then
I think this is worth giving some deeper thought. What does it mean to "live better lives"? Probably the most essential question in the hunt for utopia.
> the vast majority of people who live in a capitalist society today live better lives today than the vast majority of tribe members did back then
I think this is worth giving some deeper thought. What does it mean to "live better lives"? Probably the most essential question in the hunt for utopia.
If it is about happiness, those tribes probably had a head start on us. When you look at the records of first encounters with the natives, they are often recorded as being so happy that the explorers almost thought them retarded.
Going back to Maslow, who was so surprised from visiting and studying the tribes that it changed the entire future trajectory of his studies, leading to the theories of the Hierarchy of Needs and self-actualization:
> in Blackfoot society [...] he discovered astounding levels of cooperation, minimal inequality, restorative justice, full bellies, and high levels of life satisfaction. He estimated that “80–90% of the Blackfoot tribe had a quality of self-esteem that was only found in 5–10% of his own population” - https://gatherfor.medium.com/maslow-got-it-wrong-ae45d6217a8c
Doesn't that pretty much sound like the definition of a utopia?
And that was in tribes living in a reservation, already under pressure from the encroaching civilization. Wonder how it would have been when they lived in the most fertile areas, free to roam.
I can't help to wonder what we could possibly offer them that would really make their lives better (as in increasing their happiness). Sure, our medical technology would make a difference. They did have a very high infant mortality. But if they survived the early years, their life expectancy was very close to ours (and we only just caught up, after early agriculture causing a huge dip). Most of our medical system is dealing with lifestyle diseases that were introduced by civilization and pretty much unknown to the tribes.
This is not to say that they were perfect. They clearly did not have an economy that allowed to them to build up any kind of significant military power, which made them intrinsically vulnerable to be run over by cultures with more evolved economies.
I guess that is one of the challenges with utopia. If you are truly happy and satisfied, then why work for progress?
> the vast majority of people who live in a capitalist society today live better lives today than the vast majority of tribe members did back then
I think this is worth giving some deeper thought. What does it mean to "live better lives"? Probably the most essential question in the hunt for utopia.
If it is about happiness, those tribes probably had a head start on us. When you look at the records of first encounters with the natives, they are often recorded as being so happy that the explorers almost thought them retarded.
Going back to Maslow, who was so surprised from visiting and studying the tribes that it changed the entire future trajectory of his studies, leading to the theories of the Hierarchy of Needs and self-actualization:
> in Blackfoot society [...] he discovered astounding levels of cooperation, minimal inequality, restorative justice, full bellies, and high levels of life satisfaction. He estimated that “80–90% of the Blackfoot tribe had a quality of self-esteem that was only found in 5–10% of his own population” - https://gatherfor.medium.com/maslow-got-it-wrong-ae45d6217a8c
Doesn't that pretty much sound like the definition of a utopia?
And that was in tribes living in a reservation, already under pressure from the encroaching civilization. Wonder how it would have been when they lived in the most fertile areas, free to roam.
I can't help to wonder what we could possibly offer them that would really make their lives better (as in increasing their happiness). Sure, our medical technology would make a difference. They did have a very high infant mortality. But if they survived the early years, their life expectancy was very close to ours (and we only just caught up, after early agriculture causing a huge dip). Most of our medical system is dealing with lifestyle diseases that were introduced by civilization and pretty much unknown to the tribes.
This is not to say that they were perfect. They clearly did not have an economy that allowed to them to build up any kind of significant military power, which made them intrinsically vulnerable to be run over by cultures with more evolved economies.
I guess that is one of the challenges with utopia. If you are truly happy and satisfied, then why work for progress?