That is the backbone of anthropology. Cultural relativism. When they are doing field work they can not apply their own cultural values on others. It can lead to them tolerating some awful stuff, but it is not their place to judge or change other cultures. However, it should never be used as an argument for what Stallman said in his blog.
I'd call it more the paradox of anthropology. You quickly fall into a infinite epistemological knot with these things - you'll always be using "your own" tools to answer every question you could possible ask about them, about you, about the very questions you're asking, about your tools themselves, etc. Here is a good essay on the ongoing debate if you're interested.
That is the backbone of anthropology. Cultural relativism. When they are doing field work they can not apply their own cultural values on others. It can lead to them tolerating some awful stuff, but it is not their place to judge or change other cultures. However, it should never be used as an argument for what Stallman said in his blog.
I'd call it more the paradox of anthropology. You quickly fall into a infinite epistemological knot with these things - you'll always be using "your own" tools to answer every question you could possible ask about them, about you, about the very questions you're asking, about your tools themselves, etc. Here is a good essay on the ongoing debate if you're interested.