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Displaying all posts with culture tag.

Understanding Culture

April 16, 2010

Paul R. Ehrlich provides a long-awaited insightful view in Seed column:

[S]ince everything from weapons of mass destruction to global heating is the result of changes in human culture over time, acquiring a fundamental understanding of cultural evolution just might be the key to saving civilization from itself.

It is impossible to deal with the present crisis by solely organizational means. The deepest attention to the culture, which is what we have become after million and half years of living on this planet, is required.

~ Miscellaneous

On Haiti

January 17, 2010

I have been monitoring the situation in Haiti and tend to agree with David Brooks from the New York Times:

[S]ome cultures are more progress-resistant than others, and a horrible tragedy was just exacerbated by one of them.

Even such monstrous phenomena like earthquakes have a lot to do with culture. How do you live, how do you treat your neighbors, what is your relationship to reality—these are the things that are going to define endurance and sustainability of your settlement.

Now, should we make efforts to translate our culture to the Haitians? It may be slightly better in organizing, but from a global perspective it still looks primitive, immature. It fails to meet the challenges of the new era, whether it is terrorism, climate change, or overpopulation. I strongly suggest that we shall question the reliability of the way of living that we ourselves are used to.

Think of all the suffering we can prevent.

~ Miscellaneous