Possible Cultural Maladjustment in Modern Latin America

1963 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Gillin
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Constant Flow ◽  
Cultural System ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
The Many ◽  
Modern Latin America ◽  
Sociocultural Systems

Some maladjustments exist in all living, functioning cultural systems, even the most isolated and the most stable. This is merely to say that no cultural system (other than Utopia) is perfect. The possibilities of maladjustment or imperfect function rise with the increased size and complexity of a culture. Modern complex sociocultural systems or civilizations are therefore much more liable to suffer the difficulties of maladjustment than were the primitive and folk systems that preceded them, even in the same territory. Not only do modern systems contain more custom-patterns and institutions in absolute numbers, but they involve numerous subcultures and specialties serving the many differentiated groupings and categories that make up a modern society. Furthermore, all modern systems are in process of rapid change for they are in close and rapid contact with the constant flow of innovations from other modern systems.

Collective Memory: Between Values and Historical Knowledge

2020 ◽  
pp. 124-142
Author(s):  
VICTOR BURLACHUK
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Collective Memory ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The State ◽  
Main Element ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Future

At the end of the twentieth century, questions of a secondary nature suddenly became topical: what do we remember and who owns the memory? Memory as one of the mental characteristics of an individual’s activity is complemented by the concept of collective memory, which requires a different method of analysis than the activity of a separate individual. In the 1970s, a situation arose that gave rise to the so-called "historical politics" or "memory politics." If philosophical studies of memory problems of the 30’s and 40’s of the twentieth century were focused mainly on the peculiarities of perception of the past in the individual and collective consciousness and did not go beyond scientific discussions, then half a century later the situation has changed dramatically. The problem of memory has found its political sound: historians and sociologists, politicians and representatives of the media have entered the discourse on memory. Modern society, including all social, ethnic and family groups, has undergone a profound change in the traditional attitude towards the past, which has been associated with changes in the structure of government. In connection with the discrediting of the Soviet Union, the rapid decline of the Communist Party and its ideology, there was a collapse of Marxism, which provided for a certain model of time and history. The end of the revolutionary idea, a powerful vector that indicated the direction of historical time into the future, inevitably led to a rapid change in perception of the past. Three models of the future, which, according to Pierre Nora, defined the face of the past (the future as a restoration of the past, the future as progress and the future as a revolution) that existed until recently, have now lost their relevance. Today, absolute uncertainty hangs over the future. The inability to predict the future poses certain challenges to the present. The end of any teleology of history imposes on the present a debt of memory. Features of the life of memory, the specifics of its state and functioning directly affect the state of identity, both personal and collective. Distortion of memory, its incorrect work, and its ideological manipulation can give rise to an identity crisis. The memorial phenomenon is a certain political resource in a situation of severe socio-political breaks and changes. In the conditions of the economic crisis and in the absence of a real and clear program for future development, the state often seeks to turn memory into the main element of national consolidation.

Toward An Islamic Alternative In Thought and Knowledge

1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Taha Jabir Al Alwani
Keyword(s):  
Present State ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
World View ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
Selective Approach ◽  
Cultural Systems ◽  
Eclectic Approach ◽  
Basic Approaches ◽  
The Many

IntroductionCurrent developments and the many acute problems facing the MuslimUmmah, especially at the intellectual level, present a serious challenge toIslam. This is why an attempt to outline an intellectual Islamic alternativein thought and knowledge has never been so urgent and imperative. Thiwill, insha 'Allah, help in formulating a clear and coordinated policy withregard to cultural transformation based on firm principles and sound strategy.It is also hoped that this policy will lead to scientific findings.By way of introduction, I will give a brief description of the state ofknowledge and thought. and of the educational and cultural systems in thecontemporary Arab and Muslim world.The Present State of ThoughtWhen examining the present state of thought among the Muslim peoples.three basic approaches can be identified:• The first can be described as the traditionalist approach which,by and large, considers the "traditional'' thought of the Ummahto be self-sufficient and capable of being presented asit is or with very little alteration. This approach suggeststhat the Ummah's contemporary intellectual life can be formedand organized and that the structure of its civilization canbe built on this basis. This approach i often described asthe approach of authenticity.• The second approach considers contemporary Western thoughtand its world-view-its concepts of existence, of life and ofman-to be universal, without it a modern culture and civilizationcannot be built. This tendency maintains that Westernthought must be adopted in toto, and any consequent negativeaspects are the price that must be paid if a modern cultureand civilization are to be established. This view is oftendescribed as mcdemistic.• The third trend, or the eclectic approach, advocates yetanother view. It contends that one must select from traditionalthought what is most sound, and from "modern" contemporarythought that which one considers and proves tobe correct, and weld the two to form an intellectual structurethat will provide a guaranteed basis for achieving what isrequired.However, the traditional approach, in the manner it has been presentedand applied, did not help to prevent the Ummah from falling into Lhe stateof decline and failure from which it is still suffering. Likewise, Western thought,as it also is presented and applied, cannot protect the Ummah from its inherentadverse, harmful and even disastrous effects. The advocates of theeclectic selective approach have not yet presented the details of this proposedblend, let alone tried to put it into effect. All this is conducive to the widerangingquestion: Is the Umrnah going through a serious intellectual crisis;and . if so, what is the way out of it? ...

scholarly journals Societal implications of a changing Arctic Ocean

AMBIO ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry P. Huntington ◽  
Andrey Zagorsky ◽  
Bjørn P. Kaltenborn ◽  
Hyoung Chul Shin ◽  
Jackie Dawson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Arctic Ocean ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cultural Continuity ◽  
Societal Implications ◽  
Arctic Ecosystems ◽  
The Many

AbstractThe Arctic Ocean is undergoing rapid change: sea ice is being lost, waters are warming, coastlines are eroding, species are moving into new areas, and more. This paper explores the many ways that a changing Arctic Ocean affects societies in the Arctic and around the world. In the Arctic, Indigenous Peoples are again seeing their food security threatened and cultural continuity in danger of disruption. Resource development is increasing as is interest in tourism and possibilities for trans-Arctic maritime trade, creating new opportunities and also new stresses. Beyond the Arctic, changes in sea ice affect mid-latitude weather, and Arctic economic opportunities may re-shape commodities and transportation markets. Rising interest in the Arctic is also raising geopolitical tensions about the region. What happens next depends in large part on the choices made within and beyond the Arctic concerning global climate change and industrial policies and Arctic ecosystems and cultures.

“Borderland” as a way of preserving and asserting identity. The historical experience of the Native American cultures of Latin America in a universal context

2021 ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Yakov Shemyakin
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Native American ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Historical Experience ◽  
Cultural System ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Linguistic Reality

The article substantiates the thesis that modern Native American cultures of Latin America reveal all the main features of "borderland" as a special state of the socio-cultural system (the dominant of diversity while preserving the unity sui generis, embodied in the very process of interaction of heterogeneous traditions, structuring linguistic reality in accordance with this dominant, the predominance of localism in the framework of the relationship between the universal and local dimensions of the life of Latin American societies, the key role of archaism in the system of interaction with the heritage of the 1st "axial time», first of all, with Christianity, and with the realities of the "second axial time" - the era of modernization. The author concludes that modern Indian cultures are isomorphic in their structure to the "borderline" Latin American civilization, considered as a "coalition of cultures" (K. Levi-Strauss), which differ significantly from each other, but are united at the deepest level by an extremely contradictory relationship of its participants.

A Discussion of Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s How Democracies Die

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1092-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheri Berman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
New York Times ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Democratic Breakdown ◽  
Independent Judiciary ◽  
American Case ◽  
The Many ◽  
Political Norms

Among the many scholarly attempts to reckon with the causes and consequences of Donald Trump’s rise, few have attracted popular attention on the scale of Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s How Democracies Die. Seldom do books by political scientists make it onto the New York Times best sellers list, but this one has, a testament to its broad influence. Levitsky and Ziblatt situate Trumpism within a broader comparative and historical context in order to assess its similarities to and differences from democratic breakdowns elsewhere, particularly in Europe and Latin America. Their broad argument is that modern slides into authoritarianism are not the result of revolutions or military coups, but rather the consequence of a steady erosion of political norms and the assault on such fundamental democratic institutions as an independent judiciary and a free press. In short, contemporary democracies die not as a result of men with guns attacking from outside the system, but rather because elected leaders from inside that system slowly undermine them. Judged from this standpoint, the authors argue that American democracy is now in real danger, and they offer a range of suggestions for saving it. How convincing is Levitsky and Ziblatt’s analysis of democratic breakdown, and how well does it apply to the American case? How useful are the solutions that they offer for rescuing American democracy? We have asked a range of prominent scholars from across the discipline to consider these questions in the present symposium.

scholarly journals The Iron Law

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
William Sims Bainbridge
Keyword(s):  
Social Disorganization ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
The Law ◽  
Social Scientific ◽  
Old Republic ◽  
The Many

Star Wars: The Old Republic and Fallen Earth are two of the many recent online gameworlds that depict disintegrating and conflict-ridden societies, in which the very legitimacy of the law is in doubt. Thus they become vehicles for critique of real modern society, and intentionally or unintentionally reflect social-scientific theories of social disorganization, institutional functionality, and the origins of law. This essay examines these examples in terms of the Iron Law of Oligarchy proposed a century ago by Robert Michels, and related classical theories that either contradict or extend it.

scholarly journals Las diferencias en las calificaciones entre estudiantes primarios según la situación de pobreza de cada cual: Análisis de descomposición para 17 países de América Latina y del Caribe

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Jorge Augusto Paz
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Transfer Programs ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
America Latina ◽  
The Many

This paper describes one of the ways in which poverty and economic inequality is reproduced in Latin America. This study analyzed certain mechanisms of educational social exclusion among children attending the sixth grade of the primary education in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study shows the intergenerational transmission of poverty and inequality through education is one of the mechanisms that slow convergence towards decent living standards, while uncovering one of the many processes of the violation of rights of children contemplated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. On the other hand, this study seeks to identify relevant variables to enumerate public policy actions, such as Conditional Transfer Programs aimed at breaking the cycle of–or reducing the intensity of–the reproduction of the poverty and the inequality. To this end, the conditioning opportunities are distinguished (called "endowments") from those that operate independently, so that identical opportunities generate different results.

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