the_dunk_tank

kinda reminds me of some of the very early contact reports and exchanges that occurred between indigenous peoples and explorers/settlers, as related in Mann's 1491. one of the stories that has stuck with me in the 15 years since i read it, is this one about some indigenous peoples brought back to the metropole to meet royals and curious elites in the 1600s. i want to say it was London, but that could just be me wanting it to be.

anyway, so this contingent of american indigenous is being shown the city streets and whatnot of the Great City and while they were reportedly impressed with all the stonework, they expressed much confusion about the extreme wealth inequality. they posed the question to the guide, gesturing to a few clearly starved men huddled in rags on the street being passed by a well-fed, fancy lad in fine furs, with the question being something along the lines of, "is this a punishment? why don't they bash that guy and take his things so they can be warm and eat?" apparently, no amount of explanation that the guide could come up with about "right and wrong" or "order" could dissuade the guests from seeing the gross inequality unto death from cold and hunger itself as the actual wrong.

but yeah, capitalism is clearly the original form of property relations. we can all remember the story of the first cave man to say "i own the mountains, the forests, the oceans, and the fields. you must pay me rent to sleep, farm, fuck, eat, harvest, swim and scratch your nuts." and how everybody was like, "yeah, that makes total sense innately that you, a mortal man, owns all the property."