Egalitarianism Is The Belief Of Equality For All,...

Egalitarianism is the belief in equality for all, irrespective of class, gender or race. Hunter- gatherer societies are often described by anthropologists as egalitarian; however perhaps some, more so than others. The social organizations of peoples like the Pygmies of the Central African forests and the San (Bushmen) for example, are labelled â€Å"strikingly egalitarian† in contrast to Northwest Coast Indians who display â€Å"social stratification†. There is also evidence suggesting that descent groups â€Å"exercise corporate control over delimited tracts of resources such as fishing stations, hunting grounds and berrying areas† (Barnard and Spencer 2011: 364). This suggests that the hunter- gatherer ethos is practiced in diverse ways, depending on†¦show more content†¦G. Bicchieri, Ernest S. Burch, Jr., Carol R. Ember, Kirk M. Endicott, Roy Richard Grinker, Steve Gudeman, Mitsuo Ichikawa, Tim Ingold and George W. Wenzel 1992: 27). Hence Sahlins†™ findings can be attributed to the cosmic economy of sharing present in many hunter- gatherer societies, as they adopt an immediate- return system that demonstrates their commitment to maintaining an egalitarian way of living. In immediate- return societies â€Å"every individual has a share of the social product, regardless of how much he or she has contributed to it† (Lee and Daly 1999). This indicates the importance of a fair distribution of resources such as food that may become scarce at certain times during the year amongst hunter- gatherers. Among the Ju/’hoansi, the distribution of meat in particular is noted as a symbolic social event, whereby the arrangement of the pieces of meat can take up to an hour in order to ensure that each recipient is given the right proportion (Lee 1993:50). This ritual of sharing is also evident amongst the Hadza and !Kung tribes, with Woodburn suggesting that hoarding food when another person is hungry would be socially unacceptable (Woodburn 1982). Thus, perhaps food sharing in such a distinct social context can be interpreted as a sort of insurance policy that reduces the risk of starvation and hunger within the community as a whole, showing that the h unter- gather ethos values society over the individual. Despite many hunter-