The New Tribal Revolution

Started by Daniel Quinn's books, this ties together some of my other issues, like environmentalism and indigenous rights. His main point is: Humanity is not destroying the earth, one single culture (civilization) is destroying the earth. According to Quinn, civilization (hierarchical societies) is not the destiny of humanity, it's merely an offshoot of human culture that has taken over the planet. Non-civilized societies (egalitarian societies) are more stable and work better for humans than civilization, and they don't threaten the environment.

From reading Quinn's books and studying anthropology and history, I've learned that stratified society, patriarchy, the destruction of the environment, and anthropocentrism (the belief that humans are above other things) all originated with civilization. While tribal societies certainly aren't perfect, they have an egalitarian social structure, gender equality, and respect for their environment. Most importantly, they don't destroy themselves and everything around them like civilization.

The New Tribal Revolution is an attempt to integrate the tribal social structure into our society. We're not trying to "go back" and live in caves like many people assume, we're trying to use the tribal structure as a model for creating an altogether new society -- one that works for humans and doesn't threaten other life forms.

I have no clue what this society will be like, or if there's even any possibility of this happening before we destroy ourselves, but we have to try, for the sake of the world and our children.

related rants: the Environment, Indigenous Rights, Feminism, Religion, Anthropocentrism

links:
The Ishmael Community
Community of Life Resources
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Saving the World

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