I’m shocked that in this discussion there isn’t mention of David Graeber and David Wengrow book, “The Dawn of Everything.”
It seems like you are using the common familiar story of the Agricultural Revolution being a fall so to speak or I think you listed it as a cliff. While I think you are right when you describe that something needs to change, in this story it seems like the only way is to go back to a time before this “fall.” At least that is what I thought before. It makes me pining for hunter gathering times.
What the Davids talk about in their book is that their wasn’t one “jump” or “leap” off into the Agricultural Revolution but that it was a seemingly gradual process, one with a whole lot more experimentation and adaptation. They show that this has political ramifications not only how we view people in the past but also for ourselves in the present. They agree with you that we are seemingly “stuck” but I feel like their exploration of how we got “stuck” is compelling and definitely something to bring into this discussion.
The Dawn of Everything is great! I did actually quote it here:
> But this narrative is simplistic and wrong as Graeber reminds us, “Helena Valero was herself adamant on this point. The Yanomami were not devils, she insisted, neither were they angels. They were human, like the rest of us.”
Planning on covering the Davids’ ideas in a follow up essay. For this one, I wanted to focus on the general narrative we’ve been playing out.
Love this! Right on mark
Thank you friend!
I’m shocked that in this discussion there isn’t mention of David Graeber and David Wengrow book, “The Dawn of Everything.”
It seems like you are using the common familiar story of the Agricultural Revolution being a fall so to speak or I think you listed it as a cliff. While I think you are right when you describe that something needs to change, in this story it seems like the only way is to go back to a time before this “fall.” At least that is what I thought before. It makes me pining for hunter gathering times.
What the Davids talk about in their book is that their wasn’t one “jump” or “leap” off into the Agricultural Revolution but that it was a seemingly gradual process, one with a whole lot more experimentation and adaptation. They show that this has political ramifications not only how we view people in the past but also for ourselves in the present. They agree with you that we are seemingly “stuck” but I feel like their exploration of how we got “stuck” is compelling and definitely something to bring into this discussion.
The Dawn of Everything is great! I did actually quote it here:
> But this narrative is simplistic and wrong as Graeber reminds us, “Helena Valero was herself adamant on this point. The Yanomami were not devils, she insisted, neither were they angels. They were human, like the rest of us.”
Planning on covering the Davids’ ideas in a follow up essay. For this one, I wanted to focus on the general narrative we’ve been playing out.
Sweet! That’s what I get for reading it over and trying to comment at like 2 in the morning hahah. Excited for the next one!
Not a bad way to spend the night! And thank you :-)