Cultures
Alexander Liss
A Culture is characterized by a stable
system of basic images used by the Mind. This system of basic images affects
peoples' perception and is used to organize sensory information and to
communicate. People belonging to a Culture use the same system of basic images.
People belonging to different Cultures use different systems of basic images,
and this causes problems of understanding and problems of communication.
A Culture could have various subcultures,
which systems of basic images have a lot in common. Usually, subcultures are
interdependent and an entire complex exists as a stable system.
Some
Cultures are interrelated that they form clusters of Cultures. Some cultures
could exist as a stable system only as a part of such cluster.
Boundaries between subcultures and
boundaries between Cultures in a cluster often enhance prospects of Culture
survival. They do not allow an easy propagation of self-destructive delusional
ideas.
In any Culture, there is a perpetual
outflow of its carriers, who assimilate into another Culture, and there is a
perpetual inflow of people assimilating into it. However, this process does not
affect the Culture - moving from Culture to Culture is painfully difficult, as
immigrants could attest.
In
addition, there is a perpetual diffusion of images (concepts, ideas, stories,
etc.) between Cultures. This diffusion does not erase boundaries between
Cultures. Similar phenomenon one observes with languages - in spite of a perpetual
diffusion of concepts, sound forms and written forms between languages,
languages retain their distinction.
Boundaries between Cultures often coincide
with some other social boundary. For example, small Christian denominations in
Tolerance and civility are limitations on
behavior, which allow communication across Cultural boundaries. Cultures, which
do not impose these limitations, grow into isolation and, eventually, fall into
delusion.
Cultures, as any stable systems, could flip
from one state to another. Such flipping is a radical change of an entire
system of images. One could observe such flipping in a history of Culture of
China.
Often, such flipping is seemingly random -
a Culture in its development reached a point, where a small event pushes it
into another stable state. It is difficult to point out a particular factor or
a particular event, which caused this radical change, which occurred in a short
period. During American Revolution, the Culture of English colonies flipped.
This was a random flipping.
Sometimes,
such flipping is assisted by a conquest.
Usually, Cultures are a natural occurrence
of emergence of stable systems of images, as stable vortexes appear in a stream
of water. With self-analysis and creation of cultural institutions, some
Cultures create artificial boundaries to protect their distinction. When these
boundaries are too numerous and too inflexible, this leads to inflexibility of
the Culture and its eventual demise, because carriers of the Culture become
increasingly detached from reality in their decision-making.
Some Cultures are artificial from an onset.
Communist culture of the
There is a Culture, which was created in a
short period and which has enormous influence on Cultures currently in
existence. This is Jewish Culture. It is a part of a cluster of Cultures, which
includes Christian and Muslim cultures.
What
is not so obvious, Christian and Muslim Cultures cannot exist without the
Jewish Culture. Christian and Muslim Cultures do not have tools of maintenance
of a large and important part of images, which they translate from the Jewish
Culture. The Jewish Culture maintains this part of images for all Cultures of
the cluster. The cluster is stable only as a system. However, the Jewish
Culture has forms, which could exist independently from the cluster.
When some Culture of this cluster becomes
rigid and detached from reality, they get in conflict with other Cultures of
the cluster. When they do not realize that this is an internal problem, they go
after other Cultures of the cluster in attempt to cast them in accordance with
own rigid image.
Jewish Culture is related to all Cultures
of the cluster; hence, it is immediately a subject of a Culture's hostility,
when the Culture becomes rigid and detached from reality (becomes delusional).
This hostility usually takes form of
Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is hostility against the Culture: many
Anti-Semites, who hate Jews in general, have a few Jewish friends.
Thus,
one could use a flare of Anti-Semitism in a society as an indication of
society's mental illness: its Culture became rigid and detached from reality.
Historically, such flare is followed either with a reformation of the Culture
or with the Culture demise.
In Medieval Europe, Christian Cultures
reached a state of disrepair. This caused Crusades, devastating for Christians
and with a small impact on Muslims, and eventual creation of new forms of Christianity
and reformation of existing forms. A flare of Anti-Semitism was an early
indication of problems within Christian Culture.
In the beginning of 20th century, a
government of Christian Russian Empire led an Anti-Semitic campaign
("literature" created as a part of this campaign is still in use by
Anti-Semites). This flare of Anti-Semitism was a definite sign of deep troubles
within the Russian Culture. A small band of communists was able to flip this
Culture into an unprecedented artificial culture.
Communist culture is not stable, and to
protect it, communists eradicated competing Cultures. Jewish Culture was among
first on their hit list. Communists destroyed Jewish religion and converted
some Jews into primitive religion of communism.
German society after WWI was in trouble,
and this manifested itself in Anti-Semitism. Nazis grabbed an opportunity to
repeat 'success" of communists and flipped Christian Culture of
The
National-Socialist culture is even more radical and delusional than communist
culture. As a communist culture, it is unstable and Nazis consistently
suppressed and eradicated all other Cultures. However, Nazis had a delusional
goal of world domination; hence, they needed to destroy all other Cultures.
They saw that communists' destruction of Jewish religion did not cause complete
destruction of Jewish Culture. They decided to destroy Jews. Ideological tools,
which they created, are still in use by Anti-Semites.
Current fire of Anti-Semitism in
Anti-Semitism in Muslim societies is a
clear indication of rigidity of their societies, which does not allow
adaptation to modern world and leads to poverty.
Now, Jews live freely in the
The system of basic images is hidden. It
manifests itself in society's habits, traditions, institutions, events, etc.
Prevalent religions in a society provide a
window into the system of basic images. Religion is an important manifestation
of the Culture, because it deals with most basic images of the Culture and it
changes slowly.
The system of governance in a society
exists only because it is in concert with its Culture. It is possible, that
brutal governance emerged gradually and spoiled the Culture on its way, but the
Culture is spoiled nevertheless; otherwise, a small group could not be able to
keep its grip on power. Hence, the system of governance is an important
manifestation of the society's Culture.
The popular "culture products"
have to reflect the Culture to attract consistent interest of the Society;
hence, they provide a glimpse into the society's system of images. Thus,
studying society's literature, theater, music, cinema, etc. one could get a
glimpse into the society's Culture.
The Jewish Culture emerged with subcultures
of priests and Levites. People, which settled outside the
Priests protected the nation from
perpetually emerging random religions. Levites became a part of population,
which adjusts the Culture to new conditions. They developed religious studies,
craftsmanship, etc. The subculture of people, which lived outside the Land,
served as a liaison with other Cultures.
The Jewish Culture went through many forms.
Different groups now play roles initially played by its tribes. When people
lived in
In
all times, it is manifested with Jewish approach to life, to each other and to
other people. It is so deeply embedded, that Jews, which converted to
Christianity in
Unlike
some other Cultures, which easily survive random variations in all directions,
the Jewish Culture does not survive falling into not monotheistic form of
religion. Hence, Jews work consciously to not fall into such form of the
Culture variation. Variations in all other directions are usually tried.
This
"vulnerability" actually defines Jewish Culture. It is in the open to
remind Jews that they have to make perpetual conscious efforts to maintain this
Culture. Enemies of Jews frequently tried to explore it to destroy Jewish
Culture.
Because
of this limitation, the subcultures in Jewish Culture cannot survive for a long
time, when they deviate from the monotheism: when they create a primitive
religion. This is a property, which is actively used by Christian and Muslim
Cultures. They translate the system of basic images maintained by the Jewish
Culture into own basic images. This relives them from maintaining these images
on their own and they could focus on their specific images. No living Culture
could rely on ancient images, because the system of images is perpetually
changing, hence, while Christian and Muslim Cultures cite ancient texts, they
rely on the current state of the Jewish Culture.
Any
Culture needs at least some form of expansion to exist. Usually this expansion
reflects expansion of a society, which carries it, whatever form of expansion
the society uses at a moment. The Jewish society several times in its history
ran into a situation, where it has no possibility to expand. It resorted to
analyses of oneself as a tool of expansion. This created a unique and extensive
literature explaining inner workings of this Culture. This literature was used
to guard various forms of religion from falling into a primitive religion, to
advance science of psychology, psychiatry, etc.
The
Culture is dynamic, and current rapid social changes are reflected in changes
of this Culture.
American
Culture never had time or interest to analyze oneself. It depends on perpetual
expansion of American society; it works with perpetual real experimentation
instead of imaginary experimentation using models, it uses relatively large
amount of resources, which are available to this Culture in abundance.
Initially,
it was using natural hunting and agricultural resources and expanding
geographically. When it got in conflict with rigid structures of British
society, it broke off it.
When
this set of resources and room for expansion was exhausted, it turned to
technological expansion. When internal rigid structures, mostly manifested in a
subculture of Southern states, got in conflict with this expansion, the civil
war swept these barriers away.
When
the society fell in dysfunction during the Great Depression, the artificial
expansion created with the public works financed by the government pulled it
out of it.
In
spite of traditional values of thrift and hard experiences of the Great
Depression, the American society turned to incessant consumption to create room
for a new form of expansion. American Culture now rides this expansion.
This
Culture is so different from other Cultures that perpetual misunderstandings
arise, when it gets in touch with them.
For
example, movies in the American Culture became a subject of consumption, units
of Entertainment aimed to amuse with novelty, stir emotions and leave a good
feeling in their wake. They hardly represent the American Culture. Movies in
other societies teach, argue, expose cultural values etc. Thus, people from
other Cultures try to figure out the American Culture from its movies - a
futile exercise.
Perpetual
mutual misunderstanding between the American Culture and the communist culture
of
Only
when President Reagan reached deep into the American Culture and came up with
the language, which communists could understand, and supported it with economic
pressure coming from a properly organized arm race, the communist culture
disintegrated.
Some
things in the American Culture are especially difficult to understand for
outsiders.
In
the American Culture, it is customary to make a small step in a direction,
which looks promising using live systems and actual resources. Other Cultures
often cannot afford this level of risk, because they do not have enough
resources. They developed an art of analysis using models and they cannot
understand Americans, because they do not have similar experience.
Americans
use fewer models in decision-making. In a complex situation, Americans create
special decision-making systems; usually these systems have embedded
competitive mechanism, which improves efficiency of decisions and allows
functioning without extensive audit.
The
consequence of tradition of perpetual experimentation with working systems
leads to a peculiar American phenomenon poorly understood in other Cultures.
Americans have "short memory". Errors and mistakes made on course of
such experimentation are not punished harshly and opportunity is given to fix
them.
Americans
traditionally attribute success of the American Culture to the capitalist
system. However, the capitalist system is only a tool, which happens to work
well with this Culture. Use of this tool with other Cultures often leads to
inhumane consequences.
Being
busy with expansion, Americans did not develop rigid separating people walls in
the American society: when a disaster strikes, the society as a whole is
automatically mobilized to help, without a prompt or guidance from the
government.
The
American Culture is unstable without a sufficient expansion of some kind.
Hence, the society has to prepare the next expansion, while the previous is
still sufficient. The other Cultures understand this riding of expansion by the
American Culture and they are in fear, that the current form of expansion,
which the American Culture rides, could override them. The best solution for
them is to ride the same expansion.