>Sure. What I meant was, the Duwamish etc are also the subject for
>projection by reconstructed (and unreconstructed) Rousseauans.
The myth of the Noble Savage is a dialectical twin of the myth of Progress of Mankind. It's no use criticizing one without criticizing the other.
Cf. ***** Social Democratic theory, and even more its practice, have been formed by a conception of progress which did not adhere to reality but made dogmatic claims. Progress as pictured in the minds of Social Democrats was, first of all, the progress of mankind itself (and not just advances in men's ability and knowledge). Secondly, it was something boundless, in keeping with the infinite perfectibility of mankind. Thirdly, progress was regarded as irresistible, something that automatically pursued a straight or spiral course. Each of these predicates is controversial and open to criticism. However, when the chips are down, criticism must penetrate beyond these predicates and focus on something that they have in common. The concept of the historical progress of mankind cannot be sundered from the concept of its progression through a homogenous, empty time. A critique of the concept of such a progression must be the basis of any criticism of the concept of progress itself.
(Walter Benjamin, "On the Concept of History," <http://www.tasc.ac.uk/depart/media/staff/ls/WBenjamin/CONCEPT2.html>) ***** -- Yoshie
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