What was the most benevolent, altruistic human society in human history?

Question

A lot of people would say it was one of the Native American tribes, but they fought wars when they felt it was necessary. Some were cannibals too. I've heard that the ancient Trojans had a civilization that rivaled the ancient Greeks, although they were less warlike and more focused on commerce and infrastructure. The Trojans seemed to get along well with their neighbors, and usually only wanted to fight defensive wars (business is more profitable than war). Some might even say that it's the United States of America. What's your opinion.

Answer 1

Words like "benevolent" and "altruistic" can often describe individuals, but they rarely apply to society in general. Native Americans have a reputation for being peaceful and environmentally friendly, but these are modern images that have no more validity than any other stereotype. I can't think of any civilization that was significantly better than others. Occasionally throughout history small utopian societies have appeared, but these were created by like-minded people and usually didn't last long. I'm willing to bet that most developed nations today are closer to what you're looking for than any other culture in history.

Answer 2

There has been no completely benevolent, altruistic society in recorded history. Every nation has a history of violence, slavery, suppression, etc. Even 'gentle'-seeming nations such as the Polynesians had their very violent squabbles. If pushed, perhaps I'd nominate the Inuits.

You are obviously an american by your last sentence. This is an unbelievably naive statement - I am not a 'USA basher', but, really, look at the history of US with open eyes.