NON-STATE POLITICAL THEORY: FROM A TRIBAL GOOD LIFE TO INCREASED WELL-BEING ADAM WALDIE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO JUNE 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothgque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'6dition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-68584-6 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-68584-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. ••a Canada NON-STATE POLITICAL THEORY: FROM A TRIBAL GOOD LIFE TO INCREASED WELL-BEING By Adam Waldie a dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY © 2010 Permission has been granted to: a) YORK UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES to lend or sell copies of this dissertation in paper, microform or electronic formats, and b) LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA to reproduce, lend, distribute, or sell copies of this dissertation anywhere in the world in microform, paper or electronic formats and to authorize or procure the reproduction, loan, distribution or sale of copies of this dissertation anywhere in the world in micro- form, paper or electronic formats. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission. IV ABSTRACT This dissertation examines how non-state societies can contribute to and help shape debates around how society can be organized politically and economically to increase human happiness or subjective well-being. Drawing upon anthropological literature on non-state social formations, psychological literature on well-being and persuasion, as well as post-capitalist and post-state political economy, several conclusions are drawn: tribal societies are qualitatively different from capitalist state societies; tribes can be centrally committed to enabling the autonomy and relatedness of their members; autonomy and relatedness have both been demonstrated to be the strongest determinants and predictors of subjective well-being; autonomy and relatedness can be increased through participatory economics and politics, providing larger and more complex societies with the meaningful engagement and responsiveness similar to that of tribes; and a transition to a post-state and post-capitalist society can be achieved, at least in part, using means that respect a tribe-like commitment to autonomy and relatedness. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation would not be possible without the hard work and support of several people. First, I would like to thank my supervisory committee: George C. Comninel, Stephen Newman and J. Marshall Beier. Without the time and energy of these three people this dissertation would not be where it is today. I would also like to thank the three people who took the time and effort to join George, Stephen and Marshall to make up my examining committee: Shannon Bell, Heather MacRae and Frances Abele. Their critical and insightful questions challenged me to think about my work in new and interesting ways. Finally, and of the utmost importance, I want to thank my wife Marina Djokic. Her love, support, patience and belief in me made the time I spent on and away from this project the best in my life. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iv Acknowledgements v Introduction: Blind Spots, Successes, and a Plan 1 Chapter One: Non-State Social Organizational Formations 19 Chapter Two: A Tribal Conception and Enactment of a Good Life Ill Chapter Three: Autonomy, Relatedness and Subjective Well-being 161 Chapter 4: Adapting Tribalism for Stateless Economics and Politics 204 Conclusion: Transitioning Through Small Changes and Sticking to the Upside 265 1 Introduction: Blind Spots, Successes, and a Plan This thesis will argue that a tribal social organizational form and its underlying conception of a good life, if taken seriously by political theory and if thoroughly examined, can provide a justification for establishing a post-state and post-capitalist society, and provide lessons for how to do so. A tribal social organizational form is distinct from that of a capitalist state society (Chapter One and Four). A tribal conception of the good life, made possible by its social organizational form, is centrally committed to individual autonomy and relatedness (Chapter Two), which have both been demonstrated to be the strongest determinants and predictors of human happiness (and not only in Western and/or individualist societies) (Chapter Three). Given the longevity and stability of a tribal organizational form and conception of a good life, the contribution of these to human happiness, and the relatively more significant denials of individual autonomy in state society politics and capitalist economics, an examination of the ways in which tribal lessons can justify and shape a conception of a society that better enables autonomy and relatedness through participatory planning of politics and economics (Chapter Four) is warranted. Once, not too long ago, a professor suggested to me that political theory is, among other things, concerned with how we ought to live, with living a good life. In this sense, he continued, political theory is a branch of moral philosophy, wherein debates about how humans ought to live typically take the form of debates about morally appropriate ways of living. A second philosophical thinker, Mark Kingwell, has written, "[i]n search of viable models, we rightly look to what works, even if it doesn't work perfectly." An important part of political theory is that "abstraction must meet reality at some point."1 With thoughts such as these in my mind, I have always found the absence of a meaningful discussion of non-state societies from the canon of disciplinary political theory curious, if not troubling. To a certain extent, this phenomenon is understandable. Disciplinary political theory has its roots in state societies, and has predominantly been concerned with living a good life within those state societies, including conceptions of who should rule and how. This makes sense to the extent that the political theory developed within state societies is in important ways shaped by their lived reality, following from and expressing that reality. However, historically, conceptions of a good life have not merely existed and been lived out within state societies. State societies represent a qualitative transition in social organizational forms when compared to non- state societies, such as bands and tribes, and the political theory that developed within state societies is qualitatively different from the conceptions and enactments of a good life found in non-state societies. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that non-state societies are qualitatively different from state societies in terms of how they are organized, the sorts of life they make possible, and the conceptions of a good life that are therefore possible to enact. In this sense, non-state societies have ways of life that are morally distinct in comparison with their state counterparts, making it worthwhile that political theory, as a branch of moral philosophy, thoroughly examine the specificity of 1 Mark Kingwell, The World We Want: Virtue, Vice, and the Good Citizen (Toronto: Penguin, 2001), 7-8. 3 non-state societies, and see if lessons applicable to those currently living in state societies can be learned from them. This thesis will argue that there are lessons to be learned and that, if applied, they can improve the quality of life of those currently living in state societies. More specifically I will argue that: (1) tribal society is qualitatively different in terms of both its social organizational form and its conception of the good life, which both express ideas of autonomy and relatedness, demanding the significance and dignity of all; (2) decades of psychological and psychiatric research have resulted in a consensus that autonomy and relatedness, the central aspects of a tribal life, are seemingly the two greatest predictors of human happiness; (3) given these findings, state society and capitalism limit human happiness, while lessons learned from tribal society can be applied to a capitalist state society, moving it towards a post-state and post-capitalist society.