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Yes the “we” is inclusive! I’m a comfort addict too. But there’s some evidence to suggest that we really would prefer hunter-gatherer existence. In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were quite a lot of instances of Europeans who were captured and incorporated into Native American tribes, who later had the opportunity to return to European (or European American) society. Invariably they preferred to stay in the tribe. And when Native Americans experienced the reverse scenario, they nearly always chose to return to their tribal lives too, when given the choice. I don’t know if that would still apply - there are very few true hunter gatherers left, and society has changed enormously - but it is suggestive that hunter gatherer societies had things going for them.

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Pierz Newton-John
Pierz Newton-John

Written by Pierz Newton-John

Writer, coder, former psychotherapist, founding member of The School Of Life Melbourne. Essayist for Dumbo Feather magazine, author of Fault Lines (fiction).

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