I and many think that Steven Pressfield is the best writer of historical fiction in the last century. It's his ability to get into the mind and worldview of people in the past that is his strength. A recent book of his, the Afghan Campaign, tells of Alexander's tough time in Afghanistan 300BC! It is a retelling of our current experience.
Since writing this book, he has devoted more and more time to the question of how and why the Afghans have beaten the pants off the best western militaries for the last 2,000 years. Of course at the time of Alexander, Islam was hundreds of years into the future. So the answer cannot be an aspect of Islam.
His thesis is that the core strength of Afghanistan is its core organization - The Tribe.
The Tribe being of course the essence of the Natural Human Organization - the social unit that took man from the trees to the plains, conquered large predators, survived the Ice Age, and established our place in the world.
Of course, we are so prejudiced that we know almost nothing about real tribes, how they see the world and themselves. And so we are ill equipped as Citizens of Nation States with our own unconsciously held beliefs about what is real, to understand them and cope with them.
It is helping me understand what we are truly up against. And even more importantly, as the Nation State withers away, offers an insight into the nature of the Natural Organization - which is of course tribal - and what are the elements that are returning in our midst.
As the Nation State hollows out, we are seeing Tribes grow in our midst. Gangs are Tribes, Mexico is increasingly run by Gangs. Basques are Tribes. French Canadians are a tribe.
No one has to design them. They were largely eliminared in nations states - Scotland etc - but are on their way back.
Best we understand them
