THE HUMAN CYCLE

by Colin M. Turnbull ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 14, 1983

Anthropologist Turnbull (The Forest People, Man in Africa) here compares Western lives to some in non-Western society, taking the human life-cycle (childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood, old age) as his framework. Ostensibly, his purpose is ""to show alternative societies at work,"" without value-judgment. However, the real theme (anticipated in some of Turnbull's previous books) is how much better Mbuti, Hindus, and Tibetans handle the business of living--so it behooves us to learn from them. The examples from other societies are all idyllic. They are loving, caring, sharing, socially cohesive, and rich in ""spirit""; the numinous is incorporated in all areas of daily life. By contrast, the Western material--chiefly drawn from Turnbull's own experience--is crudely negative. (That he grew up a middle-class Briton between the wars, and experienced the barbarities of public school, may help account for his reverse ethnocentrism.) he sees us squashing children's potential, creating socially irresponsible adults, grubbing for money, tossing old people on the scrap heap. To change, we need only choose to: ""there is no reason why"" the experience of small-scale, traditional societies ""should not be valid on a larger scale."" The idea of choosing to become like traditional society is paradoxical in itself (insofar as traditional societies depend on the impossibility of anyone making a choice)--even were the merits that Turnbull claims for them more certain. Seductive in the abstract, but suspect anthropology and a poor blueprint for social action.

Pub Date: April 14, 1983

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1983

Categories: NONFICTION