Shambala: The Constitution of a Traditional State (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Shambala: The Constitution of a Traditional State

Let us dwell for a moment on the implications of the word 'must' in the preceding paragraph, for in that monosyllable lies a great deal of implicit theory, as I have noted elsewhere.2 Man is committed to social existence by the nature of his physical needs; but this commitment places each individual in the dilemma of self-interest versus social demand. Society must provide orderly processes for the regular resolution of this in herent conflict, if the society is to continue. The 'must' therefore has no reference to moral requisites, nor to inevitability, but rather to survival. If the society is to continue as a society, then it must have certain organizational features. The precise nature of these features will vary from one society to another; that is, these functions may be performed by variant structural elements. But the functions must be performed, or the society will cease to exist. This is true for all societies, however primitive or deve loped; it is also true for societies of a particular character, and the range of organizational choices are therewith narrowed. We shall see that the special demands of statehood make certain organizational features necessary, if the state is to exist as an entity.

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Goldschmidt took his doctorate in anthropology in 1942 from the University of California, Berkeley.