The Nature Of Ethnic Wholeness (Landscape and Ethnos,XII)

The character of an ethnic whole is analyzed in terms of systems theory. An ethnos is viewed as a closed system in which the initial burst of energy (innate drive) is gradually spent while entropy steadily increases. The system must constantly remove the accumulated entropy by exchanging energy and entropy with the environment. What produces the wholeness of an ethnic system is not the grouping of similar individuals, but the existence of a particular set of relationships between these individuals, giving rise to what may be termed an “ethnic field”. In light of the systems and field concepts, the author argues against defining an ethnic community as a mere social organism distinguished by common language, culture, daily life and mental outlook. Such an approach, in his view, limits the question of ethnic wholeness to the principle of external likeness, without delving into the internal linkages that hold an ethnos together.