"Attention is not a resource; attention is life...your experience of being alive consists of nothing other than the sum of everything to which you pay attention to." - Oliver Burkeman

Very sorry. Not looking forward to it.

I seek to understand, not to confirm. I agree that the cultures & those other ways existed. Not denying that those in-between ways of living existed, and were amazing, but ultimately they were not viable when challenged by the spread of more technologically advanced empires. What am I missing?

I think Christianity is a good example. It is the religion of conquered cultures (other than Rome). Why are most from Central and South and North America Christian? Because that was the religion of the conquerors. Same with American slaves. Same with once-upon-a-time pagan Europeans. Is this wrong?

Those civilizations & cultures don't exist any more because they were conquered, & there is no reason to believe that there would not always be technologically superior, empire-minded cultures. In every instance throughout history, empires won until defeated by other empires.

The can and did flourish, but were eventually conquered. They were susceptible to being conquered. I don't think it's social darwinism, but there will always be technologically advanced societies looking to conquer or expand their cultures and power/wealth.

In a bubble, or in their time, they worked, but were always susceptible to conquest, as demonstrated by what ultimately happened, and all the reasons for what happened.

It's essential to the argument because it's empires that consumed most other forms, with the US being the most powerful at this time. The other forms were not viable (great as they may have been) because they were eventually conquered.

In a bubble, or in their time, they worked, but were always susceptible to conquest, as demonstrated by what ultimately happened, and all the reasons for what happened.

But I wouldn't stop at the beginning of the European Hegemony. It's essential to the argument because it's empires that consumed most other forms, with the US being the most powerful at this time. The other forms were not viable (great as they may have been) because they were eventually conquered.

Those are the best kinds of jokes. 😀

It's simple. Monotheism has a father, a son, and a holy Spirit with angels, devils and demons. Polytheism has more than one God.

And another question I've always had for Wengrow is for those who were kidnapped by indigenous cultures, and then returned to their former lives, but then longed to return to their former captors way of life, how is this any different than Stockholm Syndrome.

All of human history did lead to empire though didn't it? That's something I did not understand about Wengrow's book. Of course there were other quality political forms, & there was never a clear demarcation between them, but empires rule them all when they want to-until another empire comes along.

As a complete novice, I found the book enjoyable. One question that came to mind was how the experience of kidnap victims taken by indigenous tribes, who later longed to return to their captors, differs from Stockholm Syndrome.

Melancholia

They immediately became IFOs upon entry, so no longer a threat.