Source: EconLog
by Pierre Lemieux
“If culture means a set of shared rules of conduct (mores) and common exposure to certain ideas (if this second category is not superfluous), then cultures exist in many, or perhaps any, groups of individuals. If culture is nothing else than national culture, one of the two words is superfluous, just like ‘cultural culture’ or ‘national nation’ would be. Culture is often a black box or contains anything and everything associated with the concept of mankind or human: according to Britannica, it ‘includes language, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, and ceremonies, among other elements.’ I am less interested here in the narrow sense of culture as ‘the humanities,’ as opposed to its broad meanings described above.” (10/23/24)