Category Archives: Dawn of Everything

A very hopeful book about how societies were governed in the past, aren’t inevitably the way they are now, how slavery, war, agriculture, and autocratic rulers are not inevitable and were avoided in the past

Criticism of Dawn Of Everything

I’d read a lot of anthropology decades ago so much of “Dawn” sounded right and plausible.  But it seemed too good to be true, and I’ve been looking since then for criticism. Much of what I’ve found was full of … Continue reading

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An Amazonian community in balance with nature

Preface. Now that limits to growth and energy have arrived, it’s past time to invent a sustainable society living in balance with nature without fossil fuels and electricity.  The Dawn of Everything showed us such civilizations from the past. Today … Continue reading

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Dawn of Everything Miscellaneous

Preface.  I’ve put interesting bits that don’t belong in a single category here as well as summaries and links to new archeological discoveries, societies today living in balance sustainably, etc.  Starting with the review from Science which summarizes the book … Continue reading

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States do not evolve from Bands to Tribes to Chiefdoms to States

Preface.  The bulk of this book is dedicated to showing why the idea of the evolution from tribes to states is false. If the authors are correct, then the flexibility of societies to invent ways of living with more freedom … Continue reading

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The freedom to travel enabled people to flee to better tribes

Preface.  One of my favorite books was Bruce Chatwin’s “Songlines” about how aborigines were included by the Australian government in the building of a new railroad so that sacred sites could be avoided and they could add the rail line … Continue reading

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How past societies avoided the Agricultural trap

Preface.  There’s a great deal of evidence that past tribes did grow food but deliberately chose not to make that the entirety of the way they lived, preferring a more seasonal styles of life with hunting and gathering, and governance … Continue reading

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Why were California & Pacific NW Native tribes so different from each other?

Preface.  Why do many societies near each other have such different values, beliefs, mythology, and governance?  In “Dawn of Everything”, the authors suggest that it’s because:

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Dawn of Everything: self-governance not Kings & Slavery

Preface.  After the Great Simplification new societies will arise, and I hope copy past civilizations that deliberately avoided slavery, war and autocratic kings.  I’ve extracted a few examples of this from The Dawn of Everything below.

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What did Native Americans make of the French in the 16th century?

Preface. My first exposure to philosophy was in High School, about the philosophies that helped shape the U.S. constitution. This led me to read Rousseau, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and others. “Dawn of Everything” points out that Native American philosophies should … Continue reading

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Dawn of Everything Conclusion

Preface. Clearly for their conclusion to make sense you’ll need to read the book and see the evidence for yourself.  Since they challenge just about all of the ideas currently in fashion, you can find some pretty damning reviews of … Continue reading

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