| Summary: | Norbert Elias (Uber den Prozess der Zivilisation. Soziogenetische und Psychogenetische Untersuchungen [On the Process of Civilization: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Research], 2 Vols, Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1969) has proposed that primitive societies rely on more passionate forms of self-control than civilized societies. This claim is tested against ethnographic data on nomadic Inuit groups of the central Canadian Arctic. These small-scale communities lack any external control of force, & their existence is insecure & fear ridden. The specific natural surroundings create strong interdependencies, resulting in strong social control. To survive, gain prestige, & live in an ordered society, the individual must control the expressions of his or her body & have freedom of movement. Self- & social control are emphasized, with self-control as the ideal form of social control. Conflict is managed through withdrawal, ritualized song duels, & butting duels, or murders committed in a controlled rational way; when violence is used it cannot be said to be passionate. Modified HA.
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