"We had no money, and therefore a man's worth couldn't be measured by it. We valued the exchange of love..." Lakota Sage

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[–]jet199 4 insightful - 3 fun4 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 3 fun -  (7 children)

So basically before money life was one big popularity contest.

That would have been fun for most of us here.

[–][deleted]  (6 children)

[deleted]

    [–]jet199 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

    "We valued the exchange of love"

    What do you think that means?

    It means people were valued on the friends and relations they had. If you were a loner or someone who didn't fit you weren't important no matter how much use you were to the group.

    It's all nonsense any way. We know the native Americans had a debt based society just like all pre-currency cultures. Rather than having your wealth in numbers hiden away somewhere you had a small number of elite people who were creditors and a large number of people who were indebted. You and everyone else would have to carry your status around in their heads at all times. Ever heard of a potlatch?

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    This didn't occur in every tribe, and you are silly if you think it did. Loners were allowed to live in different societies, unlike today, where you MUST pay up to a corrupt few, where you MUST use the services of a corruptible many or else you are seen as lower-class pariahs. Edit: seriously, how many tribes/nations have you studied? They were vastly different in many ways.

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

    They are simply defending their life's work. If you spend all your time and effort on attaining money or financial stability, and someone comes along and says that all that effort simply was never required to live a fulfilling life, then it stands to reason that they would lash out at it. They literally cannot imagine a society that doesn't operate off of human greed and monetary wealth.

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [deleted]

      [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

      I have great respect for the red people of the Americas. They lasted much longer than most clan systems did when faced with the industrial beast. I can't help but join in.