What do you think of the theory "the noble savage"?
by 
Nellie Wise Gamgee
ANSWERS: 3
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Complete nonsense. So called savages lived in a different environment from the self-styled civilized people who "discovered" them. Therefore their ignoble sides showed in different ways. They also, as anyone does, showed their best sides to the visitors and covered up the bad bits. The discoverers, not seeing their own sins replicated in the "savages" thought that they were not sinful. They were wrong - the sins just came out another way. For example, if you are a nomad who has to load every stick that they own onto camel-back every few weeks, and walk a hundred miles, you don't tend to own any more property than you really need. To the house-owner, with storage for all the gee-gaws and gadgets then could desire, it would appear as if the nomads are remarkably un-materialistic. They are just as materialistic inside, but they know that there is no point in collecting things that cannot carry. We are all humans, as good and as bad as each other, but we make different choices because of our different circumstances.
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The theory makes some important points; however, it suffers greatly from tunnel-vision within a good guys vs. bad guys paradigm. Thus, it misses the give-and-take play of cultural interactions, and the distribution of responsibility for events.
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Noble? I don't know, I always thought he was a bit of a twat to be honest.
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