Abstract
AMONG the simpler peoples, we are told by members of the functional school of anthro pological thought, no element of culture can be studied apart from its social context. This axiom, writ large, is the theme of the report of the Commission appointed by the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to inquire into the financial and economic position of Basutoland, of which Sir Alan Pirn was chairman and Mr. S. Milligan, representative in South Africa of the Cotton Growing Corporation, and Mr. H. Lesley Smith were the members (see NATURE, June 22, p. 1028). Throughout the report, it is evident that the members of the Commission were deeply impressed by the interlock of social and cultural conditions with those of the financial and economic position, present and future, and by the. complete de pendence of the political and social advancement of the community as a whole on a harmonious adjustment between such of them as will tend to conflict when faced with change; and in effect, as their final analysis of the situation, the con clusion is stressed that failure to guide the cultural and ethnic characteristics of the Basuto nation into a path which will open the way for a progressive policy, will lead to complete political and cultural breakdown. Basuto society, as at present organised, according to the Commission, is unable to adjust itself to meet the economic strain.
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Culture and Policy in Basutoland. Nature 136, 121–123 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/136121a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/136121a0