THINKING ABOUT

MANAGEMENT
LECTURE #2
PART 1 OF 2
ADMN 4101H – Winter 2022
Tom Phillips
Week of January 16, 2022.
The Neglected Indigenous Lessons
Source: Graeber and Wengrow (2021), ch. 2. (posted in Blackboard)

In the early 1700, New France (i.e., now the Quebec City area) was the centre where
the colonizing French developed relationships with the Indigenous peoples of the
area. The Indigenous peoples and the French learned one another’s languages to
communicate. The relationships that developed are well documented in several
books that became widely read by educated Europeans, at the time.
The accounts of these relationships revealed thoughtful and articulate assessments
of the French. They were not flattering, and “surprisingly consistent” – perhaps
explaining why they are not commonly known today. The French were aggravated
by the Indigenous peoples’ compelling case the they ‘richer’ than the French.
The Indigenous Critique centered on freedom, equality, and respect.
The Neglected Indigenous Lessons
The Indigenous Critique included objections to:
• the lack of generosity toward one another – the unwillingness to share
• the coexistence of great wealth and power, and poverty – e.g., beggars in the streets of Paris
• public discussion/debates that often involved quarrelling and fighting, that was, ultimately
unproductive
• people living in constant fear of their superiors
• the power that came from private property and money

With each criticism came an articulate description by the Indigenous peoples regarding
the approaches they took in managing the sustainability of their land, people, and
culture. The quality of these critiques aggravated some, however, encouraged others.
Some intellectuals seriously studies these critiques and incorporated them into their
writings. Most notably, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
The Neglected Indigenous Lessons
Those who led the revolutions in France and American revolutions were
undoubtedly influenced by Rousseau, and in turn, Rousseau was influenced by the
Indigenous Critiques of European management brought to, and imposed on, the
Indigenous people.
The slogan of the French Revolution, still commonly used, is ‘Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity’ – all at the heart of the Indigenous Critique. Similarly, freedom
(independence), equality, and justice were at the core of the American Declaration
of Independence in 1776. Regardless of how these have played out over the past
three-hundred years, there is little doubt – albeit neglected – that the Indigenous
Critique exerted an important influence on thinking about freedom, equality, and
the management of it.
Another Contribution from the 1700’s

Adam Smith, a Scottish moral philosophy of the latter half of the 1700’s also reflected the Indigenous Critique in his work. While
Smith is best known for his book commonly referred to as The Wealth of Nations, published what some consider as an equally
important book (and more relevant to our time), The Theory of Moral Sentiments in 1759.
Smith is often attributed with providing the inspiration for the ‘free market’ movement that began in the late-1970’s. Those who
believe this to be, have clearly, never read Smith’s The Theory of Moral Sentiments.
For a market society to succeed, Smith argues that there are two things required:
• ‘empathy’ for others – not harming others since you do not want to be warmed yourself
• being a ‘vicarious spectator’ – recognizing the needs of others

Therefore, successful business is about recognizing the needs of others and meeting them since you would like to have your
needs met too. Doing this honestly – morally – leads to a successful business. That is, profits are secondary; empathetically
meeting the needs of others comes first. This is more reminiscent of the Indigenous Critique than it is the late-twentieth century
notion of ‘profit first’ - i.e., taking advantage of consumers (mislead them) to make a profit is acceptable because profit is what
business is all about (not having sympathy for the misled consumers is fine as long as profit is made).
This is also like Peter Drucker’s principle that private interests are conditioned by the public good – reflecting heroism.
An Example of ‘Managing Truthfully’
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President of the United States four times- 1932,
1936, 1940, and 1944 (the amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting presidents to
two terms did not exist at the time). Roosevelt led the U.S. through most of the Great
Depression and the Second World War. In 1933, shortly after being inaugurated,
Roosevelt gave one of his famous Fireside Chats on radio about the crisis in American
banking (the transcript is posted in Blackboard).
This Fireside Chat was extraordinary. It offered a very detailed and articulate (for the
average American) description of what banking did, what needed to be changed, and
why they should trust the banks given how he was changing the laws that applied to
banks. He did this by demonstrating that he knew how to manage the creation of
reliable banking through his knowledge of banking and his understanding of the role of
government in banking, and the wisdom – and political power – to end the crisis. This is
‘managing truthfully.’