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>In every culture the native costume is the first thing to go, native architecture is next. Food is one of the last to go, even in modern places where people ar
by eezurr 4y ago
>In every culture the native costume is the first thing to go, native architecture is next. Food is one of the last to go, even in modern places where people are wearing blue jeans. So these days I like to go to places where there is still native costume and native architecture. Unfortunately these areas are shrinking. I'm not nostalgic about it; I understand the reasons behind the changes, and it's a net improvement, but someday they will be gone and I want to capture them.
And with that comes the expansion/availability of flavored sugar water and cigarettes at their local corner shop, and the dissolution of community trust.
Im beginning to question if modernization is the right choice for everyone (or anyone).
Some hard evidence is diet changes negatively affecting certain groups of people (e.g. Aboriginals, possibly African Americans). Some groups' metabolisms have a really difficult time handling wheat and/or sugar, leading to obesity.
Softer evidence includes general happiness (which is an important metric when considering which life is "better"). It's a meme, and a truth, that simpler people in Africa are happier than us modernized folk. Its not often you meet a modern man that is present, undistracted, and unwanting.
The curse for unmodernized societies today is the communication available to the outside world. Humans are cursed to be discontent once they find out there are better options available.
- zarzavat 4y agoSo, in which places today do people still wear their native costume in preference to western clothes such as shirts and jeans? I can think of: Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE), Bhutan, Saharan Africa. India/South Asia partially but more so for women.
- DavidAdams 4y agoThe contemporary Arabian garb isn't exactly "native" or historical. It's a successful attempt at developing a national identity for countries that hadn't really existed as nations before the 60s.
- throwawayaloo 4y agoAfghanistan Pakistan
- eezurr 4y agoI'm not sure, I was quoting the article in my first paragraph.
- pax 4y agoI've seen most men in Myanmar were still wearing longyies (sarongs) at least up to ~6 years ago.
- throwaway6734 4y agoIt's a meme, and a truth, that simpler people in Africa are happier than us modernized folk This is not a truth, but definitely a meme
- frontman1988 4y agoCurrently there's a famine going on in Eastern Africa. Children are dying daily of acute malnutrition in Somalia. I don't think life is too rosy for them.
- Klasiaster 4y agoHere's a good book about that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Futures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Futures
- jasonkester 4y agoThe first few chapters of Ringworld talk about the state of the world after teleport booths make it possible to instantly travel anywhere. The protagonist is all depressed because nowhere is unique anymore. He can hop from Shanghai to Boise and see all the same people going to the same chain stores and speaking the same dialect while doing the same thing. I can already notice the difference visiting places now compared to the 90s.
- kortilla 4y ago> Humans are cursed to be discontent once they find out there are better options available. Yeah, it turns out the “simplicity of famine” after a tribal territorial dispute destroyed food supplies isn’t so great after all. Or simple water sanitization problems causing severe sickness for 1/4 of your people. That simple life is good when it’s the right ratio of work rewarded with reward (food, shelter, respect in your peers). Otherwise it’s life and death misery.
- eezurr 4y agoModernization makes warfare orders of magnitude more efficient, wouldn't you agree? More people have suffered and died in modern warfare than any other wars because its that much easier to harm and kill people at scale. That's my cherry picked argument vs yours.