Cultural Relativism and the Savage: The Alleged Inconsistency of William Graham Sumner
Judged by his political and economic writings, the 19th-century thinker William Graham Sumner (1840-1910) is a conservative, a Social Darwinist, and something of a libertarian, who looked down on members of less developed cultures. However, as a sociologist, he is remembered for formulating the distinction between ethnocentrism and cultural relativism, and is considered an early contributor to multiculturalism theory. Is it simply the case that Sumner was inconsistent, or have his works perhaps been misunderstood? Copyright 2004 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc..