Skills

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Did
Posts: 693
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:50 am

Skills

Post by Did »

In part, the Ju/’hoansi’s affluence was based on their unyielding confidence in the providence of their environments and their skills at exploiting this. Ju/’hoansi still make use of well over 150 different plant species, and have the knowledge to hunt and trap pretty much any animal they choose to. As a result, they only ever worked to meet their immediate needs, did not store surpluses, and never harvested more than they could eat in the short term.

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/ ... ry-success

Campitor
Posts: 1227
Joined: Thu Aug 20, 2015 11:49 am

Re: Skills

Post by Campitor »

After reading that article, it looks like their is some merit to how they run their society but it comes at a cost. Surpluses that are gained at someone elses expense is never a good thing I suppose. But living restricted to immediate needs coupled with the philosophy of tearing down anyone who generates a surplus or provides better doesn't seem good either. The discouragement of exceptionalism has negative consequences which the article does point out:

"They took careful note of what others ate, owned, received as gifts, and whether or not they were sufficiently generous in return. The net result was that everyone went to considerable lengths to avoid being singled out for selfishness or self-importance – so much so, indeed, that good hunters usually hunted less often than poor ones, even if they enjoyed it."

"Similarly, many Ju/’hoansi are reluctant to take management roles or assume responsibilities that require making and imposing their decisions or authority on others. As a result, they remain desperately under-represented in state institutions, meaning their interests are often overlooked and ignored."

I'm not for uncontrolled growth or opposed to responsible stewardship of our resources but aren't some forms of surplus needed to provide the working capital for large and expensive projects? Roads, medicine, science, etc., are only possible because of the accumalation of capital.

How do you establish the balancing point between humility and stewardship versus exceptionalism and large movement of resources for projects that are a net benefit to humanity and not detrimental to ecology?

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