Was Mauss's work solely about 'primitive' societies?
While much of my early work drew on ethnography from societies then considered 'primitive,' my aim was not to study them in isolation. Rather, I used these examples as a lens to understand fundamental social dynamics that also operate, albeit in different forms, within so-called 'modern' societies. My concept of the 'total social fact' emphasizes that social phenomena are interconnected across all aspects of life, regardless of the society's perceived level of development. The underlying social forces are universal.
Ask Marcel Mauss the follow-up →