Are “civilized” people in some way superior to “primitive” people?
It’s common in New Left circles to cast doubt on stories of cannibalism, human sacrifice etc.; admittedly they were used by the European Empires to justify dispossession. However, Inca child sacrifices have been found on the top of the Andes mountains. And the eminently respectable Tim Flannery wrote a book called ‘Throwim Way Leg, about cannibalism he encountered in a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea – not long ago. On the other hand, that cannibalism was of people from another tribe. But even “civilized” peoples have an “us” and “them” ethic: we’re always concerned about the body count on “our” side, but we don’t mourn for the victims on the other side. So, today’s “higher tribalism” may be different in scale from earlier kinds, but not in kind. Perhaps “the West”, bombing Iraq for over 10 years now, has few lessons to teach about moral superiority. The same “West” had encouraged Saddam to invade Iran by selling him weapons; yet they now wash their hands and make HIM the pariah. So,
