H U M A N O R G A N I Z A T I O N 89

Conservative Thought in Applied Anthropology: A Critique

Guillermo Bonfil Batalla*

Most of the people in Latin America countries live which conclusions have been drawn may be consulted
in an actual state of unrest which frequently manifests in that pub1ication.l
itself in outbursts of violence. This is a reflection, with- T o speak of the existence of a conservative trend of
out doubt, of a growing demand from large sectors of thought does not necessarily imply that a group of an-
the population to achieve a rapid and complete satis- thropologists shares belief in the complete set of prem-
faction of their established needs, as well as of the new ises which characterizes that tendency; it is rather, that
ones which arise from contact with forms of modern the conservative ~ o i n of t view in the theory of applied
urban life. Even with national and international efforts anthropology has influenced the thought of many an-
undertaken to raise the living standards of millions of thropologists t o a greater or lesser degree. The central
Latin Americans, our region continues to be one of the problem, therefore, is not who are the conservative an-
poorest in the world. This fact cannot be ignored by thropologists, but, what are the conservative ideas of
those who work applying social science knowledge to the anthropologists.
integral development of our countries. D o the social sci- In broad terms, the conservative trend in applied an-
ences, particularly anthropology, possess the theoretical thropology may be characterized by accepting the fol-
equipment necessary to understand Latin American prob- lowing postulates, not listed in hierarchical order:
lems and t o oronose effective solutions for them? Un-
A .
First: A heavy psychological emphasis, not only in the
doubtedlv the social sciences are indeed -prepared to selection of problems for study, but in the interpretation
contribute their part in such tasks, even though, " . of of research results. I n the selection of topics for study,
course, the contribution of other disciplines is needed. one need only review the bibliographies, on problems of
Now then, the body of theory used in applied anthro- public health, and the essays which classify anthropologi-
pology possesses a conservative trend of thought, whose cal studies on the subject, such as those prepared by
influence is wide and manifest. I n mv opinion. this cur- Caudill in 19532 and by Polgar in 1962: as evidence that
d .

rent not only prevents the proposal of effective solutions, most of them refer to subjects such as ideas and beliefs
but it also represents a tendency which goes against the on health and illness; concepts and rationalizations about
national interests of our countries. nutrition; stereotypes carried by the community about
T h e characterization of this conservative t h o u0~ h tin the personnel in charge of sanitation programs; com-
anthropology is a decisive and inevitable task which has munication problems derived from differences in cultural
been fruitfully undertaken bv various investigators.
" The traditions, and other subjects. The need and value of such
ideas outlined in this paper are intended only to stimu- studies is unquestionable; but it is more important still
late the already proposed discussion. I shall attempt to to point out the fact that greater attention has been paid
present briefly but not exhaustively some of the funda- to these subjects than to the study of basic causes of
mental theoretical oremises of this conservative tendency. public health and malnutrition problems in our countries.
For such purposes I have carefully analysed a number In general, the problems studied have secondary impor-
of studies in applied anthropology, particularly those tance as causal elements; that is, they are not primary
which refer to problems of nutrition and public health factors in the alarming state of chronic malnutrition and
in Latin America. Even though the topic for which I have poor health which affects most of the people in Latin
analysed bibliography is a very specific one, I believe America. A t least in many cases, the selection of topics
that the conclusions of this analysis can be validly ap- responds to a trend which interprets social realities in
plied in their essence t o other areas in which attempts purely or largely psychological terms. The phenomenon
have been made t o apply anthropology. is well known and it has been consistently criticized.4
This paper is largely based on the theoretical postulates
included in m y work Dbgmstico sobre el Hambre e n
Sudzd, Yucatdn. U n Ensayo de Antropologia Aplicada.
(Diagnosis of Hunger in Sudzal, Yucatan: An Essay in
Applied Anthropology.) The complete bibliography from 1. G. Bonfil Batalla, Diagnbsfico sobre el Hambre en Sudsal,
Y u c a t d n ( U n Ensayo d e Antropologia Aplicada), Institute Nacional
de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico, 1962.
* Guillermo Bonfil Batalla is in the Instituto Nacional de An- 2. W. Caudill, "Applied Anthropology in Medicine" in Anthro-
tropologfa e Historia, Mexico. pology T o d a y , T h e University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1959.
Paper read a t the XXIII Annual Meeting of the Society for
Applied Anthropolgy, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March, 1964. 3. S. Polgar, "Health and Human Behavior. Areas of Interest
Slightly revised for publication. Common to the Social and Medical Sciences," Current Anthro-
Translated from the Spanish original by Lucy C. Cohen, Ph.D. pology. 111, No. 2, (1962).
candidate, Department of Anthropology, Catholic University, 4. C. Wright Mills, T h e Sociological Imagination, Oxford Uni-
Washington, D.C. versity Press, New York, 1959.
90 H U M A N O R G A N I Z A T I O N
It may be sufficiently illustrated with Dr. George Foster's
observations :
It appears as if the most important categories of
culture that should be more or less completely under-
stood t o carry out successful health and hygiene
programs are local ideas about health, welfare, ill-
ness, their causes and treatment. (translation - au-
thor's italics.)
If field materials are interpreted according t o Dr.
Foster's proposal, then the basic structure of a society,
the low levels of technology, and the inadequate and un-
just social organization, are factors which take second
lace in the explanation of the problems that are sup-
posed t o be analyzed. The solutions that might be pro-
posed with the above-mentioned study emphasis will not
produce the improvement of life conditions, because they
do not suggest any alterations in the structures that have
determined their existence. In summary, the psychological
manifestations of a problem have been taken as its
causes.
Second: Another basic postulate of the conservative
trend of thought in applied anthropology is the almost
axiomatic affirmation that the main function of the an-
thropologist is to avoid rapid changes, because of the
resulting maladjustments and conflicts which frequently
produce social and cultural "disorganization." This af-
firmation implicitly carries with it the idea that all
societies present resistance to directed changes; to avoid
conflict, anthropologists must try to promote develop-
ment and general welfare programs which adjust to the
local culture, respecting the established social structure,
the value systems and the norms of behavior of the
population to which programs are directed. Consequently,
the anthropologist takes the position of favoring slow
and long-term changes, he promotes small and partial
reforms, and consequently rejects and condemns radical
changes which are the only ones that affect the basic
institutional structures of a society. A t times this fear of
radical change goes to such an extreme that the anthro-
pologist pays little attention to the fundamental processes
of social dynamics. Thus, Dr. Richard N. Adams writes:
Basically, there are two different types of cultural
changes: the first is a slow, gradual and evolution-
ary type . . . ; the other is rapid and revolutionary,
caused by the efforts of societal members who wish
to produce immediate alterations, of far reaching con-
sequences. Applied anthropology can and must focus
concern, principally on the first of these types of
~ h a n g e .(translation)
~ in a specific region and have real effect on the way
5. G. M. Foster, Andlisis Anfropolbgico Intercultural d e un Pro-
grams de A y u d a Tdcnica, Instituto Nacional Indigenista, Mexico,
1955. p. 20.
6. R. N. Adams, "Notas sobre la Aplicacibn de la Antropologia,"
Suplemento N o . 2 del Boletin d e la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana,
Washington, 1955. p. 221.
With such an emphasis, the knowledge proper t o the
field of applied anthropology is limited and mutilated.
Third: One must now refer t o the form in which the
concept of cultural relativism is usually handled in ap-
plied anthropology. T h e obvious existence of various
value systems, of differing cultural alternatives t o satis-
fy the same needs, frequently leads to a theoretical posi-
tion that rejects the possibility of pronouncing value
judgments in relation to societies and cultures. Edwin
Smith points out:
As men and women we may have our opinions about
the justice or injustice of certain acts and attitudes,
but anthropology as such can pronounce no judg-
ment, for t o do so is t o invade the province of
philosophy and ethics. If anthropology is to judge
and guide it must have a conception of what con-
stitutes the perfect society; and since it is debarred
from having ideals it cannot judge, cannot guide,
and cannot talk about progress.?
When the meaning of cultural relativism is taken to such
extremes, one enters into a basic contradiction with the
very claim of applying anthropological science to the
solution of human problems. T h a t is, the r a h d'etre of
applied anthropology is denied.
I believe that lack of historical focus is one of the
reasons for adopting such a mistaken position. Knowl-
edge of social and cultural history is, in m y opinion, an
absolute requirement for any attempt to apply anthro-
pology. T h e study of history gives origin to outlines,
patterns, and laws of changes which should be used in
the promotion of development programs.
Fourth: T h e multiple causation theory, according to
which all phenomena are a product of countless small
and diverse causes, is another common postulate of this
trend. C. Wright Mills aptly concludes that according
to this position, as long as it is impossible to know all
the causes of a phenomenon, the anthropologist must
confine himself t o the proposal of small modifications of
little c o n ~ e q u e n c e .On
~ the other hand, this postulate
points to the impossibility of enunciating general societal
laws; the function of the anthropologist thus reduces
itself to the mere description of each particular case.
Richard N. Adams is quite clear in this respect when he
states:
One thing is to make generalizations in a monograph
or article for discussion among colleagues, and i t is
quite a different matter to make such generalizations
when these are t o be used as a basis for the action
of life of the people inhabiting such an area. Applied
work deals directly with specifics; in opposition to
7. E. W. Smith, "Anthropology and the Practical Man," Journal
of the Royal Anthropological Institute, LXIV (1934), xxxiv-xxxvi.
Quoted by H. G . Barnett, Anthropology in Administration, Row,
Peterson, and Co., Evanston, Ill., 1956, p. 73.
8. Wright Mills, op. cit.
 H U M A N O R G A N I Z A T I O N
science, it does not formulate genera1izations.O (trans-
lation)
Anthropologists who think in this form emphasize the
necessity for making careful research in each particular
case, because, according to Dr. Foster's assertion,
there are no two groups of population with the same
needs.1Â (translation)
I t is an opinion that, on the other hand, increases our
employment possibilities. By this path, one unavoid-
ably arrives a t a denial of science itself, of which one
characteristic and specific function is, precisely, to find
regularities in order to establish general laws.
I n passing, we shall mention another postulate, very
much related to the above-mentioned: Research in ap-
plied anthropology is usually undertaken a t the com-
munity level, and on many occasions, only one sector
of the community is studied; so, because according to the
multiple causation theory it is impossible t o generalize,
the results obtained have validity only for the small sec-
tor of the population that the anthropologist studies di-
rectly.
On the other hand, as Prof. Ricardo Pozasl1 has
pointed out, focus on the community as the unit of
study has led, on occasions, to underrating the impor-
tance of relations maintained by a community with ex-
ternal influences. T h a t tendency is clearly seen in many
monographs with an "Indianist" orientation, which con-
sider indigenous communities as isolated societies, out-
side the spheres of national society; we believe that,
a t least in many cases, such a stand is erroneous. Essen-
tially, communities must be understood within a wider
framework: a t regional, national, and in certain cases, in-
ternational levels (as in the case of the community of
Sudzal, whose basic crop, sisal, is assigned in its totality
t o the international market.)12 The relevance of such a
problem cannot be underestimated, particularly by the
growing importance given to community development
programs.
According to this conservative trend, the problems of
marginal societies with traditional culture have their
origin in the very existence of just these kinds of societies.
This is, in m y opinion, an illogical point of view, a naive
one a t best. because it is exactly the existence or survival
of these groups that needs to be explained. I n focusing
on the problem, it is con~pletelyuseless to apply conserv-
ative assumptions; it would be better to study similar
situations with the aid of some other analytic concepts
9. Adams, up. cit. pp. 219 and 222.
10. G. M. Foster, "Papel de la Antropologia en 10s Programas
de Salud Ptiblica," Boletin d e la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana,
XXXIII, No. 4, Washington, 1952.
11. R. Pozas, El Desarrollo d e la Comunidad. Ticnicas de Zn-
vestigaciin Social, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,
Mexico, 1961.
12. Bonfil Batalla, op. cit.
91
like the "internal colonialism" ~ r o ~ o s ebyd Dr. Gonzilez
Casanova.13
Fifth: Almost all the social ~ r o b l e m sin the so-called
underdeveloped countries are related in a direct and
fundamental manner with low levels of income. These in
turn are the result of a type of social organization that
prevents an increase in ~ r o d u c t i v i at ~t the necessary pace,
and also conditions an unequal distribution of wealth.
Such a fact cannot be reasonably doubted. However,
most anthropological investigations connected with de-
velopment and welfare programs seem to consider level
of income as a phenomenon that can be modified only
in a slow and long-term manner. Anthropologists who
like to call themselves realists and practical frequently
attempt t o raise levels of living without touching the
institutional structures that cause and permit the exist-
ence of large numbers of ~ e o p l ewho grow more im-
poverished day-by-day. I n short, this refers t o an "an-
thropology of poverty": attempts are made to modify
but not to eradicate conditions which give rise t o poverty.
Sixth: Even though one could still point t o other rheo-
retical oremises that characterize this conservative trend
in applied anthropology, I shall mention only one more:
the consideration t h a t diffusion is the most important,
and for some, the only process which must be brought
to play in efforts t o promote change in the communities
under study. This tendency may possibly be related t o the
fact that many investigations have been undertaken in
connection with international assistance projects,- in
which, one naturally searches for the best way of apply-
ing external aid. I n few cases is there an establishment
of goals t o accelerate the internal dynamics of the so-
cieties studied. T h e problems which preoccupy anthro-
pologists are related with greatest frequency to the action
forms needed so that the population receiving the aid
program benefits may use it profitably. The intention
is a valid one; but by no means may it be considered as
a statement of the whole problem.
I n summary, we have presented in broad terms the
theoretical postulates which characterize the trend of
conservative thought within applied anthropology. I must
repeat that I do not conceive this trend as a school of
thought that has thus far identified its total body of
postulates with great clarity. Nevertheless, it is a trend
followed t o a greater or lesser extent by a number of
anthropologists; some only hold implicitly or explicitly
t o one of the above mentioned postulates, and a t times,
even reject the rest. Others orient their professional ac-
tivity closely following the above-outlined model, and
separating from it only fortuitously.
Now then, in my opinion, the realities of the coun-
tries usually called underdeveloped, like those of Latin
America, require that the anthropologist interested in the
application of this science separate himself consciously
from this conservative trend. The type of applied anthro-
13. P. Gonziilez Casanova, "Sociedad Plural, Colonialismo Interno
y Desarrollo," America Latina, ario 6 , No. 3 (July-September 1963),
15-32, Rio de Janeiro.
92 H U M A N O R G A N I Z A T I O N
pology required by our countries must begin with prem-
ises which are very different from the ones we have
singled out. T h e magnitude of the problem with which
we are faced and the scarcity of our resources place us
in a situation far different from that of wealthy and
highly industrialized nations, like the United States of
America. We need to establish hierarchies for our prob-
lems; we cannot permit ourselves the luxury of turning
our efforts to the acquisition of knowledge about incon-
sequential aspects of problems. Thus, as we do not be-
lieve that our poverty has a psychological origin, nor
t h a t it results from the ideas and images peculiar t o our
cultural tradition, nor that our basic problems can be
explained by "deficiencies in channels of communica-
tions"; so, we do not believe that studies on these themes
will give us the knowledge that we fundamentally need
t o face our problems.
These are not opportune times to deceive ourselves
into thinking that efforts should be limited to the promo-
tion of small changes, shielding ourselves with the fear
t h a t radical changes will produce disorganization. On the
contrary, we believe that it is the task of the anthropolo-
gist to point to the very frequent uselessness of timid de-
velopment programs, and that it is also his task t o
demonstrate with scientific rigor the need t o carry out
radical changes, that is, changes which get t o the root
of the problems themselves. Sometimes it looks as if those
who work along the road of slow evolution intend to
achieve only minimal changes, so that the situation con-
tinues t o be substantially the same; this is, in other words,
to change what is necessary so that things remain the
same. Those who act according to such a point of view
may honestly believe that their work is useful and trans-
forming; however, they have in fact aligned themselves
with the conservative elements who oppose the structural
transformations that cannot be postponed in our coun-
tries.
T h e Latin American anthropologist needs to learn
t o work well and rapidly. In Mexico there are more than
100,000 localities; I do not believe that any locality wants
t o be the last studied by anthropologists, so that it may
then receive scientifically dosed attention. If we are not
capable of generalizing and efficiently and uni-
formly applied measures, then we must recognize that
our discipline is not prepared t o respond t o the pressing
actual needs of our countries.
T o state that science is universal is onlv. part of the
A
truth, because science is also an institution and a cumu-
lative tradition, and, after all, a social product; as such,
i t necessarily reflects in some way the conditions, values
and orientations of the society that produces it. T o date,
the theory of applied anthropology has been one of the
items imported into the underdeveloped countries - an
imported item, as many others. We receive from produc-
ing countries (such as the United States, England, France,
and other European nations) many well-elaborated theo-
retical postulates, some of them perfectly adjusted t o
our reality and our needs; but others are infused with a
different spirit, foreign to our interest and on occasions,
decidedly contrary to them. This is the conservative
thought, before which there must arise a dynamic and
progressive conception of applied anthropology, whose
proposals correspond to the deep and urgent needs of
Latin America and the rest of the impoverished and
backward areas.
Others before me have discussed these subjects with
greater authority and with better documentation, such
as Dr. R. A. when he studied the influence
of political interest in foreign aid programs of the United
States, or Dr. Max Gluckman,16 as he critically analyzed
the applied anthropology proposed by Malinowski, in the
light of British colonial interests. After them, little can
be added; however, I have found myself in the need t o
do so, because in addition to my responsibility and in-
terest as an anthropologist, I have the responsibilities
and sentiments of a Latin American.
14. R. A. Manners, "Functionalism, Realpolitik and Anthropology
in Underdeveloped Areas," America Indigena. XVI. No. 1 , Mexico,
1956.
15. M. Gluckman, "Malinowski's 'Functional' Analysis of Social
Change," Order and Rebellion in Tribal Africa, Cohen & West,
London, 1963.