Hardcover, 192 pages
Published Nov. 7, 2016 by IndieBound.
We have a strong instinct to belong to small groups defined by clear purpose and understanding--"tribes." This tribal connection has been largely lost in modern society, but regaining it may be the key to our psychological survival. Decades before the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin lamented that English settlers were constantly fleeing over to the Indians-but Indians almost never did the same. Tribal society has been exerting an almost gravitational pull on Westerners for hundreds of years, and the reason lies deep in our evolutionary past as a communal species. The most recent example of that attraction is combat veterans who come home to find themselves missing the incredibly intimate bonds of platoon life. The loss of closeness that comes at the end of deployment may explain the high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by military veterans today. Combining history, psychology, and anthropology, TRIBE explores what we can learn from …
We have a strong instinct to belong to small groups defined by clear purpose and understanding--"tribes." This tribal connection has been largely lost in modern society, but regaining it may be the key to our psychological survival. Decades before the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin lamented that English settlers were constantly fleeing over to the Indians-but Indians almost never did the same. Tribal society has been exerting an almost gravitational pull on Westerners for hundreds of years, and the reason lies deep in our evolutionary past as a communal species. The most recent example of that attraction is combat veterans who come home to find themselves missing the incredibly intimate bonds of platoon life. The loss of closeness that comes at the end of deployment may explain the high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder suffered by military veterans today. Combining history, psychology, and anthropology, TRIBE explores what we can learn from tribal societies about loyalty, belonging, and the eternal human quest for meaning. It explains the irony that-for many veterans as well as civilians-war feels better than peace, adversity can turn out to be a blessing, and disasters are sometimes remembered more fondly than weddings or tropical vacations. TRIBE explains why we are stronger when we come together, and how that can be achieved even in today's divided world.
Idea: Creativity as the cause and propagation of anti-tribalism. TBD...
A truly insightful read about the problems facing our world and more particularly our veterans. A book that should be required reading in civics classes (if those still existed).
Junger's thesis, in brief, is that the real trauma of warfare doesn't occur in combat but in returning home to find you don't belong. It is then, you realize that the hardships were actually preferable to an alienated peace. His point is well taken (and well written) but the solution would appear to be a society of severity. I am reminded of the "clear and severe" motto of Wayward Pines, a sci-fi future in which the death sentence was a common punishment.
Junger notices that the military provides a clarity and an intimacy that we have lost. He understands this as tribalism and finds a similar culture in the American Indian tribes of the 19th century. The "proof" is that the civilized often went native but the reverse never occurred. Tribal life offers something we need and can no longer find in 21st century America.
I agree with his diagnosis …
Junger's thesis, in brief, is that the real trauma of warfare doesn't occur in combat but in returning home to find you don't belong. It is then, you realize that the hardships were actually preferable to an alienated peace. His point is well taken (and well written) but the solution would appear to be a society of severity. I am reminded of the "clear and severe" motto of Wayward Pines, a sci-fi future in which the death sentence was a common punishment.
Junger notices that the military provides a clarity and an intimacy that we have lost. He understands this as tribalism and finds a similar culture in the American Indian tribes of the 19th century. The "proof" is that the civilized often went native but the reverse never occurred. Tribal life offers something we need and can no longer find in 21st century America.
I agree with his diagnosis and with many of his arguments but reject his conclusion. Indeed "we" need uniting (scare quotes indicating there is no "we" any more) but tribes do not scale well. It's hard to unite around principles when our society can't even agree as to what the facts are. It is, in certain circles, easy to claim the intellectual high ground for science and education, but in a way, their assertions have recent been shown to be those of arrogance by how badly the 2016 electoral polls turned out to be wrong. Pollsters were claiming scientific validity but their predictions didn't happen. Instead, the authority of institutional class-ism, the invisible cousin of institutional racism, was saying "believe us--we're the smart ones here."
Junger makes arguments which use the word "evolution" and he appeals to the DSM (psychiatric diagnostic and statistical manual) but his critique of Western culture suffers from its own culture-boundedness. He asserts his point of view, much of which I share, but doesn't admit he is asserting his values.
Among those values are his understanding of gender roles. This is primarily a book about men. I don't know if he would identify as a gender existentialist because he is smart enough to avoid the issue.
I enjoyed reading this book--his anecdotes made it easy to suspend my disbelief. I especially liked his argument that people feel safer sleeping among their troop in combat than alone in an isolated house in peacetime.
I offer no solution for the ills he points out, in part because I think they are just the tip of the iceberg, but we need to start discussing it from some point of view. Why not start with his?
