Anthropologists Quote by Claude Levi-Strauss
“The dogma of cultural relativism is challenged by the very people for whose moral benefit the anthropologists established it in the first place. The complaint the underdeveloped countries advance is not that they are being westernized, but that the westernization is proceeding too slowly.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Cultural Relativism Critique, 1970s
Relativism is questioned when those it aims to protect find its pace too slow, highlighting tension between theory and lived need.
In simple terms: People want faster change than scholars suggest.
Key Takeaway
Balance theory with practical urgency.
Themes
culture
ethics
development
anthropology
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
theoretical
policy
When to use this quote
- development aid
- postcolonial societies
- academic discourse
Key Concepts
relativism
social change
policy implementation
Questions to Reflect On
- What pace of change is appropriate for a community?
- How can scholars better align with local expectations?
A Different Perspective
May overlook local agency in favor of external frameworks.
![“Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… [The anthropologist] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner alienation as an urban intellectual.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fe1/susan-sontag-332_alienation_anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-a_15322.jpg)
