Tribalism the workable · What would you expect? · If you like it so much . . . · What people like about tribal societies
Have students conduct an informal survey of parents or other adult acquaintances to get an answer to this question: “How do people like living in tribal societies? Compared to us, are the Bushmen of Africa or the Gebusi of New Guinea more satisfied with the way they live, less satisfied, or about the same?” Discuss the results in relation to what Quinn says in the first half of “Tribalism the workable.”
Quinn mentions five New World trials of “other social organizations.” As a research project, see if students can unearth examples of trials conducted elsewhere in the world.
Quinn mentions four kinds of tribal groups that are not hunter-gatherers. What do they have in common? [Among other things, they make their living by traveling from place to place; their income comes from the “settled” folks they visit; to a greater or lesser extent, they’re viewed with suspicion or hostility by the locals.]
Quinn says there’s a difference between painting in order to make money and making money in order to paint. Name some other people who make money doing their thing so they can go on doing their thing, rather than doing their thing so they can make money. Name some things people ONLY do to make money. What do you think?– Does Quinn make money writing books so he can go on writing books, or does he just write books to make money? Is there any way to tell?
