Reflections on Birthright and Belonging : Critical Events and Ordinary Lives

Reflections on Birthright and Belonging explores the theme of existential insecurity from the standpoint of birthright. Arguing that racism, sexism, nationalism, and religious extremism are all born of an anxiety that an entity felt to be alien to oneself poses an imminent threat, this book sheds light on the nature of the divisions confronting society today. Through birthright, specific powers and privileges are conferred on a person or group by virtue of their belonging to a certain class, caste, or country, or possessing certain unique features or properties. Anthropologist Michael Jackson demonstrates how such entitlements are often bitterly contested, in legacy disputes within families, or competing land claims between tribes and nations, as is evident from ancestral myths and national histories throughout the world. Further, Jackson explores how birthright is inherently linked with ideas of belonging and reflects the inseparability of who a person is and what they have. Ontological metaphors typically conflate quantitative and qualitative values, so that "belongings" are both personal possessions and icons of identity. The book highlights how feelings of dispossession thus contain complexity and can often lead to individual and collective acts of defensiveness and aggression. Reflections on Birthright and Belonging utilizes both psychological and political perspectives to explore the theme of ontological insecurity, allowing deeper insight into the conditions of modernity.