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BC study guide
Every year, without fail, we outlaw more things, catch more people doing them, and put more of them in jail. The outlawed behavior never goes away, because, directly or indirectly, it's supported by the strong, invisible, unrelenting force called vision. This explains why police officers are much more likely to take up crime than criminals are to take up law enforcement. It's called "going with the flow."Beyond Civilization
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New book from Daniel Quinn! If They Give You Lined Paper, Write Sideways
"One of the most troublesome questions I've been asked--and it's been asked hundreds of times--is: 'Where do these strange ideas of yours come from?' In the beginning, I thought it was just the usual where-do-you-get-your-ideas? question that all authors receive. My readers soon set me straight. Read more ... |
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Check out the News and Information Announcements...
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The turn away from tribalism · From tribalism to hierarchalism · What folks dislike about hierarchies · But aren't tribes actually hierarchal?
The author says that, to build a village, you must grow some crops--and this is what most aboriginal villagers grow: some crops. Have students research aboriginal villagers still extant in Africa, South America, New Guinea, and elsewhere to find out what crops they grow and what food they hunt or collect by foraging.
The author says that every civilization that enters history ex nihilo (that is, from no previous civilization) enters with the same basic hierarchal social organization firmly in place. Have students report on what is known about the social organizations of civilizations that emerged in one of the places he mentions outside the New World (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, or China).
Quinn says he doubts that anyone really needs him to explain what "the rulers" like about hierarchalism. What do they like about it?
See how many students have visited Disney World or any place like it. What was their impression of the workers they saw? What kind of work were they doing? Do you agree that "No one runs off to join Disney World"?
Among the circus boss's jobs, Quinn says, are to decide who's going to be hired and fired and to settle disputes. If people sometimes have to be fired and sometimes have disputes, doesn't this mean that circus life is something less than perfect? How does this relate to other statements the author has made about the "perfection" of tribal life?
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