Envisioning Power: Ideologies of Dominance and Crisis 9780520921726

Citation preview

Envisioning I'o~ver

Envisioning Power

--

Ideologies of Dcrnlinance and Crisis

Eric R. tVolf

University of Califc~rniaPress Bcrkrley a n d Los Angelrs; Californi~

O 1999 h! T h e Kegci~tsof thc UniLcrsity of C i l l ~ 1 1 ~~\ ', , ' L C < ~ d ' l ~ ~! ? J?C ~ . r(> 1111' fi1-5t \.!$I[ ~!CX!CO 111 19i1, ~\.!icse 1 li-.~ri!e:i ! ~ i i i < I - io i n . ! i a ~ ! kilciii f;;.on: I'eilrc? ,irnii!lz,~, & & I ~ CI ' !a ~ c r i ~R? ,e ~ i rAlilj, ~ n 'if,'1111~11i ~ l 'I-. S < ~ : I ( ~-She C K ~L I.~ I I C J \ J ~ \ p ~ o d i i i ~!-,I. i i (I;i.~.i~i,lli Nationa! Soci.~Iisl-riprc!\.icicd tkic 1113111 tdrani~of' EI). ~ ~ i o i ~ s i a[:,! - ~ !ed:-1;. ~ ~ . .i:l:.:lthooc$ e , ~ n t sig~iificanrl! l ali,rpi.i! my per son,~Iarid p;ot'e~sic,r~a!ionie:-ns. llilri; o n tt-ie Itc 2i.i i7onor\ p,il~c.r'ol~ tiie rc:l!srribiitii,e f.i~~ictio!.is i,f chicts!l!p. I pxsenteii i:iiri~l\.crsii:ils of'the m ~ t e r i n !0:;S~ticuna!S o i ~ ~ l i s t Germ~n!. ;r:,gi 1 ~ n (>n d the . l ~ t e c s!1992) as Frockit,a> 1,ectures o n the :lnthrop(jlog\, ofCric,is at the C:I:NY (T;laduate CIenter. Alore re sen:ly 1 \$.as ~ b l ct o disc~is,the prc)jc::t t ~ c f t ' ~ ' r e t !Kewarch ~c School on Hisror:sal .inthropoiog~,I'Socr~-rlog!~, University of Lund, with J o n ~ t h ~ lFricilnizn r; as nl: host (1990; in i!le Erhnologica! Serriir?,~i-. i'!1i~,essityc ~ Z\lrich, f gl~iili.cib!. Jkirg Idtziblil~fi.i l l the ti-a~nc~,\.ork of .'tIiearetica! i i i c i i s s ~ i > ni11j prt.sent-tin). aiit1lr;)pol:~gy" ( r g g q ; ~ n ind a coi!i)qui1:1n org~i-lizedby A n ~ o nRlok a t the Aiiisterdam Siliool f o r Social Science P,sst.ar;h ( ~ 9 9 ' 7 ) . . , For ai!\,i!,ing nlc. n n souri.t:s o r >h.!r!r,g rticlr o\i n nrritings si,ith me. I ain indebtcii ro j::i:;i-r:~~ Rroda (l~isror\.,l:ni\,crsidaci National r l u tGnoma dc &li.~i;i;i . i3.ii iil C'arr.i~ic)i l-t:li,cion, lJrincct~ ~r k: ~; ,~, i!.l -1g' ~ t ' ~ iY!:c.5 . ~ JLicc)pi~1 i anthro p ~ l o g > .N::!.:c:iatt.l , :, it).>tli,i! Jc)igel:ji.~?f Lirit!~!-op!)iog>-, t;iil\.ersit>~ot' ;. C ,:ti!r\..Lyl~ll.,critiofCali ,r o r t ~ A:~ ~1-05 i :\i-kL:clc>, , (--lr~L.c1.11ikc t ~ ~ : c i ~ r - o ; ~ oLl o?g~~~. c g Lri2i\ es~ rr sit!',, ~ ~ l f i c I-c):~:., ~ l c ~ .l;.:\ti:i ~ i i t ! ; ; , ~ ~ ~ ~L o' I !~o; .~L ~, I ~S ~. ,LKJCIOI>'I~ ~.IL~ t i 4 I . i , -1. i iditlr,trj, o f SOCILI ..~ Ici ., $c > i ~ r c : i j' . ~ I ~ i s e u tr ~ Aif - l ~ ~ ~ l i r i ) Science, Elr~:l~~~rs:. S C ' ,kork k?>.~l(>g~.~ .. L i i i i ~ ~ ~ofr ~A ~l i t~~~ ~~ ~. \ i ?I ~, ~C: I~I C!(' , ~ t i : , ~ ' ~ I ~ i ~15~.'111iO!i~:5. ii~c:r C:~mi>ridgc., ~\Ia:,~brt.l~~!si.trs Kt)..4 Reaii ' r c l i g ~ o u s~LLIIIICS, DCPJLII CII~\,CSSIC>,J, L1'a?-r!c S~!ttles: c ~ ~ l t h r ( ~ p c ) l o1g) o>r~t ,I ~ n dStace L':-!i\.crsit).), P'~me!nli'right (.~:~:hropologyand liiiguisrics, Ye;\. York), . i i ~ i l Kudoif -4. AI. \.An %arlt\t.iik 1 ~nt!iropo!og),,U~ii\.ersityof I,'trecht), '

!,

1,

1,

Yc\.i.r,~!ti-iciiifs Ioc;~te~i rrl,~ter-i,~Is fi)r nic that I ~ i l i g h otherwise t ne\.er li,ivr. secli 1 ~ i s o\\.~!l.l. t o offer t i i ~ n k st o the rnan)8 ccholars o n whose \r i } r k I l~\i\.c.d r ~ \ \ r n Special . .ippreciation is clue t o three demanding , i l l ~ i thus helpfiil critics: H'lrhar,~ J. Price (anthropology, C:oiumbia l.:ii~\.cr>iiy;,\\.ho rcatl c'lr-l! dl-at1of 1 1 1 ~ .c h ~ p t e ro n tile A ~ t e c s ; F l e r m a n t ~Rehcl (I.~istory,I1ni\crsity of Ari7!.)nu). w h o dissected 1 1 2 ~ ~ first cifi~its t o \!rritc o n Narion,il Socialisni; anci Jane Schneicier (.IIIthropoiogj~,City I~ni-i.crsity o f N e \ \ . k'ork ),\\.lie re'ic? the entire manuscript a n d clarified sr~lrncof r-n!' ~ r g u m e n t s hIy . friend Archibald W. S i n g h a ~ npc;litical , scientist-,~cti\.i>t, din ays sure that "the n e s t r o u n d is ours,'' said t i ] In' the Sudeteniand l'apa J r i l i ~ offered ~s t o iiidt. rm>. parents i r i his t:ousc. Later he stoocl LIP t o tlic Gestapo officers i'i'llo ac~c~rsed him of m a ~ n t ~ i n i nf rg~ e n d ships with Jews. Rosa ricvcr ciisg~lisctlher identity as "a Sozi a m o n g the N'IL~s''; ari "Oici Catili~lic,"slic argued writh the archbishop o f Austria o\.eI- her rrl-i~salt o accept the V ~ t i c a ndoctrine o f 1870 o n pap.11 inf,iliibiiity. 'These t t i o c s t ~ a o r d i n ~ ~people ry are buried in u n mat-ked gl-a~esin Trag;,iein, IJ1pperAustria. M y friend Kurt taught m e l i o \ \ r ro fight .and \!;as nllr ct)~nl),lnion o n ITi,ln\ hikcs and trips. O n e c i t these \\.as ,I long-tliital-ice bicycie tour through Central Europe t i i ~ took t 11s t o A4unic:l-i in tile bummer of r(137. Tllerc, iinder the e!,e oi'rlie SS, \t,c \\,atchctl the prc~i.cssionsand par,liies org'lnized by the regiiiie to celcbr-att: the :)a!. o f G c r r n ~ Art, ~ i ant? \\.e tisited both the , ~ p ~ ~ r o exhibit vcd o f G r : r ~ n ~.Art n ~ n rile d elisapproved s i i o ~ vot"'DegcncrarcArt." 'I'iie Iricniory cjf that 113)' remains I\ itii nle. Kurt 1iog:ed t o stilci! drt and bci:orne j. pLlilitero n glass, b u t he pcri5hed in the final German retreat frotm RLI~.\~.I in 19+5, in '3 n.ar lie did ilot \\.,lnt. \tritho~!tS\-iicl ";1l-~.crlnLin,rn! \trife, hest frienti, co~insclor,anel critic, this project noald neIrer Ii,~\.crcachcd its conc!aaion. I o\\.e Inare than I car1 salr1 0 her great g o o d sel:se, her sharp editorial eye i i ) r evasions, rcdui~d,lncits,~ n dallies into baroqlic prost., and her gift of' lailghter. Together \v't. finally roiled this heaiy medicine bundle into the light of if^!..

1nt:roduction

I want, in this book, t o explore the connectiori bettireen ideas and polver. \Ve stand a t the end of a century marked by colonial expansion, worlti nrars, revolutions, and conflicts over religion that have occasioned great social sufering and cost millions of lives. These uphea~alshave entailed massive plays and &splays ofpower, but ideas have had a central role in all of then). Ideas have been used t o glorify or criticize social arrangenients within states, and they have helped warriors and diplomats t o justifi conflicts o r accommodations between states. Ideas have furnished explanations and warrants for imperialist domination and resistance t o it, for conimunisni and anticommunisni, for fascisn-~and antifascism, for holy ivars and the immolation of infidels. They also reach into our everyday lives: they inform discussion:; about "family values," prompt some people t o scare their neighbors by burning crosses in their yards, cause believers t o undertake long pilgrimages t o Mecca or Lourdes or to await the Second Coming in a Rocky Mountain retreat. Nevertheless, an analytic understanding of 11olt. power and ideas intermesh has eluded us and remains a matter ofdebate. Sorne scholars accord ideas a Platonic existence in human "minds," or endow them with an independent capability t o motivate and move people. Others regard them primarily as rationalizations for self-interested conduct or as accompaniments o f behavior, lacking significance "in the long run." T h e long run may be seen as dominated by natural

selectio11, by the fc)ries o f thc ~ i n i o n s ~ i oo~r ~bys , the ultimately d c terminant role o f the econotn).. Arguments about i l o ~ vtc) thiilk a b o a t iiie'is h:.\.e mdrkcii o u t the intellecrual path\v~j,sof';\Jnerican anthropology. Fen. aiithropi~logists h a \ t follo\t.ed those, such as