two modes of life

Anton Sherwood (dasher@netcom.com)
Thu, 17 Jul 1997 23:13:28 -0700 (PDT)

Rick Knight wrote
: > I rather like Daniel Quinn's classification of "takers" and "leavers",
: > the classic agro-dominant vs. gathering/herding-passive cultures of
: > Earth. Would a shepherd be a maker or a taker? Perhaps this is of
: > no relevance to the more forward-thinking extropian mind except to
: > point out the need to define scope in any hard-wired classification
: > exercise. <G>

Michael Lorrey responded
: Such a two class system would describe pre-technological culture just
: fine. When writing, permanent structures, and specialization began to
: occur, the maker category became necessary to symbolize those who built
: newness and were not tied to the wheel of life. THis is why the gods
: were so pissed at Prometheus and stuck him on that rock. ;)

In other news, Jane Jacobs' book SYSTEMS OF SURVIVAL (1993?) sets forth
the idea that there are two ways to make a living: taking (from Nature
or from other naked apes) and trading (with other naked apes), and that
these two modes give rise to two strongly contrasting "moral syndromes"...
Check it out.

Anton Sherwood *\\* +1 415 267 0685 *\\* DASher@netcom.com