General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I'm The Duke University Freshman Porn Star And For The First Time I'm Telling The Story In My Words [View all]RainDog
(28,784 posts)thanks for the reply and the kind words.
Engels and Marx based their ideas on early anthropological studies of Native Americans. Of course those ethnographies too, as we all know, were distorted by the European view of their status in society.
But they noted that the culture of the Onondaga, iirc, was more matrilineal - the males saw all the children in their community as "theirs" - and they also didn't have a big deal about private property as part of their culture. A priest tried to tell them this was sinful and the Onondaga man said the French were crazy because they only cared for the child they knew came from them.
That, to me, speaks to the cultural issue of property - are we part of a community, as a nation or are we all just supposed to, bloody teeth and claw, take what we can for ourselves and others be damned.
Engels traced the origin of property to the move to an agricultural society. This happened in the area of the middle east and north eastern Africa 10k y/o - before Europe was really populated and way before it had a culture that could match the sophistication of northern Africa and the middle east.
Prior to agriculture, Engels thought humans, as hunter/gathers, had more loosely maintained relationships - the point that, before property, women had their own sexual agency b/c their children were traced through her, not a male. As you know, in that situation, the maternal uncle is more important than the father, as far as bonds for long term survival, tho communities would've been so small that people interacted.
There are still tribes that practice hunter/gatherer ways and they are, overall more egalitarian, and in at least one in the Amazon, both women and men take multiples spouses, depending upon whether they want to or not. Nothing is coerced about such arrangements, everyone, male and female, hunt together, with nursing babies in tow - they hunt small prey, like most of our ancestors did too.
Anyway, again, thanks for the kindness. I think we may have had words in the past and if so, my apologies if I were rude.
As far as marriage for love as superior - well, of course I'm a product of my culture, so I find the idea of romantic love preferable. Whether it should always be tied to marriage is another question. Some people wonder if we don't place too many expectations on marriage, or have unrealistic expectations based upon some mythical past. Did you ever read The Way We Never Were, by Stephanie Cootnz? She pretty much demolishes any Republican idea of what was "traditional" - the tradition Republicans value has been in place only for the rich and only less than a century, and was more aspirational than actual.