Do anthropologists often assume that only Westerners can be 'ethnocentric'?

Question

Hmmm...there is a lot of good in indigenous cultures and I don't think they should be threatened by Western culture. At the same time, it is their personal choice whether or not to participate in Western culture. I just don't think they should sacrifice their own culture. More should be done to protect the legacy of indigenous peoples.

Answer 1

All cultures and people in general tend to be ethnocentric. Any culture that contains different views, ways of living and or beliefs tend to be viewed as backwards or in disarray when viewed from the outside looking in. One must be on the inside and actively participate in another culture to fully understand it.

Answer 2

I'm not sure.  I personally have encountered ethnocentrism from a lot of different societies but there are inevitably some strongly idealist anthropologists that believe the Western world is flawed and the native cultures are utopian or idealistic.  Every field has bad apples.  I would say that any anthropologist that believes that probably doesn't deserve the title because they are so biased in their views that they have lost the cultural relativity that is essential in anthropological research.

Answer 3

No, you're just bashing anthropologists.  

Anyone familiar with the controversies surrounding some of the works of Chinese anthropologists wouldn't claim this.  

Face it, anthropology profs deal with freshmen, and almost every freshman is a sheltered flower, who knows little of the world beyond his own little neighborhood, but is also convinced they know it all, because they saw it on TV.

Answer 4

How can only Westerners be ethnocentric?  We live in a melting pot for Pete's sake!  That statement cries false.

Answer 5

Westerners are probably less ethnocentric than other cultures.

If the people of other cultures choose to adopt western ways it should be their own choice. In some countries governments try to curb western influence but people tend to only adopt things they perceive as "better" in some way. That doesn't mean they can't preserve their own culture in other ways though.

In many instances, that culture should be preserved. As you know, indigenous people from small tribes typically do not do well when they are introduced to western society. They don't do well for the same reason you or I don't do well when we are  dropped off in the middle of the jungle or rain forest. We don't have the proper skills to survive in those places, and likewise, these people don't have the proper skills to survive in western society.

It is perfectly ok to introduce them to the western world but they must be encouraged to keep that which enables them to survive at the same time. If they are going to be "relocated" they need to be taught how to survive in the new environment.

Answer 6

Many primitive societies call themselves a word meaning "human".   Outsiders are considered "other than human".  So, in a way, most cultures are ethnocentric.

Western society is far more complex, and not really the domain of anthropologists.  However, the Western experience of exploration (whether for conquest or knowledge) has certainly brought us into contact with many different cultures, with whom we compare ourselves.  So, we are also ethnocentric, but in a more judgemental way.