A Way Of Life That Works
For People As They Are

In our culture our institutions don't work. We have laws, supposedly so people know not to break them, but people break them anyway. We have schools, supposedly to prepare people for the world of work, yet in every cohort there are many who will learn next to nothing.

We want people to be better. Our legal system would be magical if only people were better. Our education system would be wonderful if only those kids all knew what was good for them, sat down and shut up. If only the people were better then they would all recycle and ride bicycles. If only people were better then we would stop laying waste to the planet.

Why the tribal lifestyle was so successful was that it didn't rely on people being better. It accommodated people just as they are. It allowed them to be greedy, violent and ignorant yet still their lifestyle worked. It may not have always been pretty. But it was viable.

Tribal law never outlawed people from doing things. What it did was provide a means for righting a wrong when an inevitable wrong happened. They realized the folly in making things illegal.

Tribal people aren't environmental saints. But unlike us they aren't enacting a story that puts them at war with the world. They can be destructive, selfish and shortsighted but their lifestyle still functions.

Throughout the history of our culture we have been fixated on making people better but all to no avail. We tell ourselves that our way of life could continue if only the people in it functioned better. But the problems we are causing are not because we are ignorant and unenlightened. It's not the people that are the problem; it's the system, the story that we belong in.

Related Articles From Deep Ecology Hub:

• Tribal Life Is A Lifestyle That Worked
• The Importance Of Cultural Diversity