Question

What myths regarding Paleolithic societies and our own is Sahlins trying to debunk? What evidence does he present?

Answer 1

Marshall Sahlin in 1972 argued that an essay of hunters and gathers on affluent society and describes the prominent challenge of the neoclassical economics. According to Sahlin, in an affluent society, all people’s materials wants are satisfied. In his argument, the hunters and gathers on the road to affluent society by not on advanced technological progress but with limited material wants.

His work is revolutionary in anthropological studies. He is debunking the myths that the natural man. In his words, he pointed out that the non-western pre-capitalist society is poor because their inhabitants are in poor condition and faced starvation and malnutrition. It is because they are extremely interested in leisure.