The Cannibals raises one of the thorniest ethical questions of our times — how do you balance respect for all cultures and uphold universal human rights? As Montaigne rightly points out, no culture is so pure in its application of virtue that it has the right to lecture and enforce its values on the world.

And yet, human progress results from higher values spreading to new places. There needs to be something like a cultural exchange in the propagation of morals, with both sides gaining from the experience of closer ties and greater joint appreciation. It rarely plays out that way, however, with the richer and more powerful countries often dictating the terms of morality on the rest of the world in exchange for greater riches (not often evenly distributed) and weapons (which have often been used to oppress rising populations.)

In his later and better essay The Coaches, Montaigne imagines how much good it would have done the world and the Western powers if they had exported the best elements of their cultures to the New World instead of conquering and stealing. That, to me, seems like the least that powerful countries can do in exchange.f

There’s something else that has bothered me in recent years — an easy willingness of people on the Left to offer their support and protection to people, and then do nothing to back up those who acted based on these promises. At the height of the DEI movement, liberal institutions promised that they would support the rights of people who had been left out — but this did not translate into tangible actions that challenged governments who threatened the human rights of others.

This began as a trend applied to African nations in 2023 and 2024 — and by 2025, when the country was in full retreat from DEI, these Liberal institutions did little to back up people in their own country who they’d promised to stand by and support.

The worst of that fever seems to have lifted, but we should not let the Liberals off the hook so easily. Be wary of the promises you make to people when it comes easiest. If you aren’t willing to endure hardship when the tide turns against you, then think twice about how sincere your support for them is now.

As for Montaigne’s point, I have no problem condemning the practice of cannibalism by anyone. But at the same time, we should not be so quick to label a culture barbaric for holding onto practices that need to end. Our culture is likely unaware of dozens of reflexive actions that someday in the future we will be astonished ever existed.

The point isn’t to condemn the moral failings, but to continually learn from them and understand that moral progress is a never-ending process.