It's nothing new.
I understand that, and so did those writers I mentioned. It isn't that it is new, its more that it is being "brought back" as "normal" within certain societies, and it is interesting to think whether it could "happen here" (ie, in western societies). I have no doubt that it can, since as both you and I have mentioned, its happened before in those self-same societies. However, the mindset now in those societies is different, but things change...