
The Darker Side of the “Original Affluent Society” - mcguire
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3631086?seq=1
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mcguire
" _Hunter-gatherers emerged from the "Man the Hunter" conference in 1966 as
the "original affluent society." The main features of this thesis now seem to
be widely accepted by anthropologists, despite the strong reservations
expressed by certain specialists in foraging societies concerning the data
advanced to support the claim. This essay brings together a portion ofthe data
and argumentation in the literature that raise a number of questions about
hunter-gatherer affluence. Three topics are addressed. How "hard" do foragers
work? How well-fed are members of foraging societies? And what do we mean by
"work, "leisure," and "affluence" in the context offoraging societies?
Finally, this essay offers some thoughts about why, given the reservations and
critical observations expressed by anthropologists who work with foragers, the
thesis seems to have been enthusiastically embraced by most anthropologists._"

