Originally posted by Only-now

@ Roog -- I understand what you mean...and I do not view other cultures as less than my own. I have respect for the unique customs, rituals, religions, techniques, etc...that other culture exhibit. However..when I refer to their people as "primitive"...I am referring to the technological, medical, philosophical, scientific etc. They are less advanced in these areas...which more cleary means..that our culture was once in their "position" but we PROGRESSED to where we are today. The word "primitive" can be defined as rerferring to an earlier stage of development. Their lifestyle IS an earlier stage in human development, simply because we have advanced past that lifestyle in many key areas. So...no, their cultural differences are not primitive to our own, just different (though one can argue that certain practices like human sacrafice, or certain governmental practices are less advanced than others). However, their are many areas in which our society is more advanced than theirs, and thus they are living at a "primitive" stage of human development.

I don't believe that comparing cultures is a bad thing. There has to be a reference point. Of course, at the same time...studying cultures independently has benefits as well. However, we are not studying cultures here. I was responding to the attitude that was presented here (and that is present in many circles currently) that somehow their lifestyle is what we SHOULD be living like. It is impossible not to compare their culture to ours when that is the very topic I am responding to. That attitude, of the simple, hunter-gatherer lifestyle being better comes from many places. Distaste with capitalism and industry (and thus individual wealth etc) is one motivation for this attitude. So...I responded to that attitude with my belief that our current advancements in these key areas are beneficial and important...and that it would not be a good thing to return to a time in which we did not have these things...such as in the tribal groups. I do not like the attitude that a less advanced, tougher, more painful lifestyle is better because someone is dissatisfied with various aspects of our current lifestyle. Challenge those things directly, instead of championing the return to a time without the advancements and benefits we have today.

~Kiva
That's all good...but, still, "primitive" is a poor word to use. It fails to satisfy the description of a culture because it tends to be vague. There are better ways to describe what you want to describe. But I feel that we have happened upon a stalemate.

And California > Rest of America...