Cultural Materialism: The Struggle for a Science of Culture

Foundational. This book is the core of cultural materialist theory. I lays out in simple language a theory for describing and explaining the complexity that is human behavior and thought. Many have railed against cultural materialism for being too simplistic, for "naïvely" arguing for evolutionary, universal patterns throughout human societies. Harris spent his life fighting for a scientific approach to anthropology and this was his masterwork towards that goal. He begins by discussing science in general; its beginnings, evolution and application. At the end of the chapter he says something which resonates throughout the rest of the book and his work. This statement provides a window into the character of Marvin Harris like nothing else Ive read. He says, "No other way of knowing is based on a set of rules explicitly designed to transcend the prior belief systems of mutually antagonistic tribes, nations, classes, and ethnic and religious communities in order to arrive at knowledge that is equally probable for any rational human mind. Those that doubt that science can do this must be made to show that some other ecumenical alternative can do it better. Unless they can show how some other universalistic system of knowing leads to more acceptable criteria of truth, their attempt to subvert the universal credibility of science in the name of cultural relativism, however well intentioned, is an intellectual crime against humanity." Throughout the first part he discusses his theory. Beginning with the epistemological underpinnings of the theory and ending with application he thoroughly explains and attempts to preempt any questions that might arise. In the second half of the book he compares his theory to other anthropological explainations and descriptions of human behavior and ideas. He discusses sociobiology, Marxism, structuralism and psychological approachs to humans. He ends with a critique of postmodernism or obscurantism as he calls it in this book. His theory is basically that we are motivated primarily by a few basic biopsychological drives. These drives lead us to produce things and reproduce ourselves. Production and reproduction, in relation with the environment, lead to the organizational structures and the symbols and ideologies of particular societies. This is a system. As such all of the parts feed back into each other so that a change in one part usually leads to a change in all other parts. The primary way change occurs in the system, however, is through alterations in the modes of production and reproduction or because of changes in the environment. This is because these are the only things that are tied directly to our basic biopsychological needs. It is a shame that anthropology has lost Marvin Harris and his scientific, multi-linear evolutionary theories and wandered into the abyss of postmodernist, interpretationist mishmash.

Marvin Harris' book, Cultural Materialism, is a must read for any student in the social sciences who intends to address issues of war and peace, environmental decline, and social justice. Written in clear, understandable language, the theory presented is compelling and fully relevant to the most pressing issues of today. The updated edition offers an introduction by Allen and Orna Johnson that "examines the impact that the book and theory had on anthropological theorizing." Compared to today's muddled and often unfathomable social theories-Cultural Materialism provides a practical and useful research approach relevant to any social issue and usable by those working for social change. Don't be put off by the title, the book and theory fully address all aspects of culture and in an evolutionally perspective. I particularly recommend the book and theory to those who work on environmental and social justice issues. Conservation biologists seeking to explore sociocultural issues, especially when addressing conservation planning implementation problems, would be well served appreciating the Cultural Materialist perspective.

This book will eventually be recognized as one of the most important of the 20th Century - but not until the 21st Century. In spite of what the previous reviewer said, it does indeed deal with male supremacy - and Cultural Materialism's explanation for male dominance is something that feminists should learn and understand, if they want to do something to end male supremacy.

The struggle for a science of culture represents a lenthy contention, as to whether or not culture is a infrastructure or simply a superstructure. The empirical approach used in Harris's work, avoids the realm of philosophy and the abiding law of society, which however is presented as a fact of matter. The contention between the survival of the fittest and the early need to develop agricultural society, the human need not to inter marry were, in fact the effect of a culture in motion. The materialization of culture as a container of human activity opposed to the idea of culture being the sum of the contents obsures the reality; that both coexist and do represent as stated in book, the true Dilectical relationship. Harris's view while I feel is a honest reflection of culture and science does not apply its conclusions to the dominance of the struggle by men to dominant women in society. Cultural materialism does recognize the exploitation of people as the category of change demanded by society and not these shifts in the mode of production.