davidbau.com

Patriarchy and Fundamentalism

A few days ago I asked why fundamentalism is growing.

Phillip Longman, in an article in Foreign Policy, suggests it has to do with the advantages (in 'social Darwinian' terms) of patriarchy. Male-dominated cultures that judge men by the size and quality of their families end up having higher birthrates than non-patriarchal socieites, Longman argues, and therefore patriarchal cultures dominate the world over time.

As secular and libertarian elements in society fail to reproduce... people adhering to more traditional, patriarchal values inherit society by default.

This dynamic helps explain, for example, the gradual drift of American culture away from secular individualism and toward religious fundamentalism.

It is not an argument that this is a good thing. It is just an argument that this is just what happens due to the power of exponential growth.

What do you think?

Posted by David at March 5, 2006 09:33 AM