Much as with the Rwandan Genocide, where a huge number of observers argued that the Hutu-Tutsi rivalry was one created by the Belgians before it spiraled out of control, one wonders how much blame is to be correctly apportioned to the European colonizers here. For Van den Berghe to say the relationship looks like a re-enactment of colonial times (albeit a benign and friendly one) presupposes that there was no relationship like this prior to colonization. I'm ignorant as to whether or not that's the case.
But the overall point that the physical Bantu expansion is what permitted their competition to take on a discriminatory, deadly aspect is undeniable. The Twa are one tragic example, but for inter-Bantu conflict one need only look at the Zulu and the Sotho. Long before the Boer appeared on the scene, the former was rampaging against the latter, and they were clearly able to differentiate each other without a handy How To Racist guide from the nearest trekker.
The point of his invocation of the Belgian example is for comparison, not genealogy. One of the primary theses of the book is that ideology reflects the biological mechanism of inclusive fitness. Both benign and extremely parasitic forms of "racism" can emerge among sympatric ethnic groups without the presence of Europeans, capitalism, or slavery.
Nice post.
Much as with the Rwandan Genocide, where a huge number of observers argued that the Hutu-Tutsi rivalry was one created by the Belgians before it spiraled out of control, one wonders how much blame is to be correctly apportioned to the European colonizers here. For Van den Berghe to say the relationship looks like a re-enactment of colonial times (albeit a benign and friendly one) presupposes that there was no relationship like this prior to colonization. I'm ignorant as to whether or not that's the case.
But the overall point that the physical Bantu expansion is what permitted their competition to take on a discriminatory, deadly aspect is undeniable. The Twa are one tragic example, but for inter-Bantu conflict one need only look at the Zulu and the Sotho. Long before the Boer appeared on the scene, the former was rampaging against the latter, and they were clearly able to differentiate each other without a handy How To Racist guide from the nearest trekker.
The point of his invocation of the Belgian example is for comparison, not genealogy. One of the primary theses of the book is that ideology reflects the biological mechanism of inclusive fitness. Both benign and extremely parasitic forms of "racism" can emerge among sympatric ethnic groups without the presence of Europeans, capitalism, or slavery.