Egalitarianism: A perspective from North American tribal society

Abstract

Western political thought is Eurocentric in world view. Since Western thought has been accepted as universal, there is the need to respond to this situation. This thesis will examine egalitarianism from a perspective of North American tribal society. It is my hypothesis that since the discovery of the Americas, indigenous people continue to have a contradictory experience of egalitarianism. Although certain elements of equality were common to the thinking of indigenous people and Western man, Western nations oppressed indigenous people through egalitarian policies.