Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/622

 608 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Blood relationship, real or fictitious, is here regarded as the basis of community life. Political organization grows out of the settlement on a certain territory, and the bond of neighborhood interests takes the place of consanguinity.

Opposed to the theory of the patriarchate is the general tendency represented by Bachofen, McLennan, and Morgan. With various differences these agree that at a certain stage women were dominant in society. They differ in respect to the prevalence of monogamy, polyg- amy, and promiscuity, in the conditions anterior to the patriarchate. Bachofen depends for his proofs upon myths. Poetry reflects the laws of life. Religion is an early motive of conduct. Sexual impulses are the dominant factor in savage life. Social evolution is produced by the interests of consanguine groups.

McLennan relies upon symbols. For example, the contemporary playful imitation of capture in marriage ceremonies points backward to a universal custom of securing a wife by violence. Primitive men did not live in families, but in groups distinguished by a totem. Intercourse of the sexes was promiscuous and unregulated. Blood relation was the only social bond, and political society did not exist.

The socialists have used the data furnished by Morgan as the basis fora "materialistic" theory of history. According to this view the consanguineous bond was followed by the tie of economic interest. Morgan explains the origin of the gens and the tribe. His studies of Indian and Hawaiian people led him to construct a series of family forms based on nomenclature : Promiscuity ; Punaluan family (where brothers are excluded from marriage with sisters) ; Syndiasmic family (community save in sexual relations) ; patriarchal ; monogamic.

Giraud-Teulon rendered a valuable service by summing up the various theories, and by showing how they are reciprocally comple- mentary. Posada offers his own summary of the tendency represented by Bachofen and his followers. Humanity proceeds from hordes which have no regular bond ; these groups produce tribes, phratries, gentes, clans, and, finally, the family ; the chief socializing agency is the sexual instinct, and the mother is the chief factor ; political units are unknown.

Lubbock admits feminine filiation, but denies the matriarchate ; holds to the theory of promiscuity and the purely physical impulse in marriage. The child belonged to the tribe, and the tribe owned the woman.