“It is a highly valued function of society to prevent changes in the rules of the many games it embraces... Deviancy, however, is the very essence of culture.
Saved by Alex Dobrenko and
Cultural deviation does not return us to the past, but continues what was begun and not finished in the past. Societal convention, on the other hand, requires that a completed past be repeated in the future. Society has all the seriousness of immortal necessity; culture resounds with the laughter of unexpected possibility. Society is abstract, cult
... See moreIt is necessary to share meaning. A society is a link of relationships among people and institutions, so that we can live together. But it only works if we have a culture — which implies that we share meaning; i.e., significance, purpose, and value. Otherwise it falls apart. Our society is incoherent, and doesn’t do that very well; it hasn’t for a... See more
Culture is a way of getting people to that point of understanding. The work of a lot of modern culture is to say to people: You’re making value.
After all, the point of culture is often less the content than the sharing of the content. Entire communities, substantial, lasting communities, spring up from shared shows to say nothing of the tribal pleasures of shared lifestyle. The failure of sharing comes from a failure of culture and that makes culture a problem.
Whatever else a culture is, it is a repertoire of desirable forms of change.
