by From Ken Zimmerman Most cultures in human history have failed. The consequences of cultural collapse are almost always catastrophic. Culture defines our existence and makes us who we are. Without culture we have no past and no future. As all the products of the people of a society–material and non-material, culture is a complement to society, interacting people living in the same territory who share a common culture. Impossible to have one without the other (unless you want to call archaeological remains and historical records “culture” or “society”). People in society create culture; culture shapes the way people interact and understand the world around them. Culture determines what we know–the sum of all the angles in a triangle; what a screw driver is used for; how to use a computer
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from Ken Zimmerman
Most cultures in human history have failed. The consequences of cultural collapse are almost always catastrophic. Culture defines our existence and makes us who we are. Without culture we have no past and no future.
As all the products of the people of a society–material and non-material, culture is a complement to society, interacting people living in the same territory who share a common culture. Impossible to have one without the other (unless you want to call archaeological remains and historical records “culture” or “society”). People in society create culture; culture shapes the way people interact and understand the world around them. Culture determines what we know–the sum of all the angles in a triangle; what a screw driver is used for; how to use a computer to find out where Peloponnesians are… Culture also determines what we don’t know–how to catch a fish by hand; how to build a dugout canoe and navigate the South Seas without chart or compass. Culture determines what we want to be–lawyer; dairy farmer; computer programmer; doctor; shaman; pearl diver. Culture does this by providing the only options people can or will see at a time and place in history. In simple terms, culture makes human lives possible. When a culture no longer does this, when it impedes the continued being of a society, then the culture has failed. A culture such as Dr. Goodwin describes is on the edge of failure. Based on past cultural failures, this is not good news. Uncertainty, fear, and degradation generally follow. Is there any way to stop this? https://rwer.wordpress.com/2019/06/21/necessary-changes-in-economic-theory/