Cultural Theory

by Thompson, Michael; Ellis, Richard J.; Wildavsky, Aaron; Wildavsky, Mary

• ISBN13: 9780813378633
• ISBN10: 081337863X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1990-06-18
• Publisher: Westview Pr

Summary

Why do people want what they want? Why does one person see the world as a place to control, while another feels controlled by the world? A useful theory of culture, the authors contend, should start with these questions, and the answers, given different historical conditions, should apply equally well to people of all times, places, and walks of life.Taking their cue from the pioneering work of anthropologist Mary Douglas, the authors ofCultural Theoryhave created a typology of five ways of lifeegalitarianism, fatalism, individualism, hierarchy, and autonomyto serve as an analytic tool in examining people, culture, and politics. They then show how cultural theorists can develop large numbers of falsifiable propositions.Drawing on parables, poetry, case studies, fiction, and the Great Books, the authors illustrate how cultural biases and social relationships interact in particular ways to yield life patterns that are viable, sustainable, and ultimately, changeable under certain conditions. Figures throughout the book show the dynamic quality of these ways of life and specifically illustrate the role of surprise in effecting small- and large-scale change.The authors compareCultural Theorywith the thought of master social theorists from Montesquieu to Stinchcombe and then reanalyze the classic works in the political culture tradition from Almond and Verba to Pye. Demonstrating that there is more to social life than hierarchy and individualism, the authors offer evidence from earlier studies showing that the addition of egalitarianism and fatalism facilitates cross-national comparisons.

Author Biography

Michael Thompson is director of the Musgrave Institute in London and honorary research fellow at the Department of Geography at University College London. Richard Ellis is assistant professor of political science at Willamette University. The late Aaron Wildavsky was professor of political science and public policy and a member of the Survey Research Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Michael Thompson is director of the Musgrave Institute in London and honorary research fellow at the Department of Geography at University College London. Richard Ellis is assistant professor of political science at Willamette University. The late Aaron Wildavsky was professor of political science and public policy and a member of the Survey Research Center at the University of California at Berkeley. Michael Thompson is director of the Musgrave Institute in London and honorary research fellow at the Department of Geography at University College London. Richard Ellis is assistant professor of political science at Willamette University. The late Aaron Wildavsky was professor of political science and public policy and a member of the Survey Research Center at the University of California at Berkeley.

Table of Contents

preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Sociocultural Viability An Introduction	p. 1
Notes	p. 15
The Theory	p. 19
Introduction to Part One Against Dualism	p. 23
The Social Construction Of Nature	p. 37
Making Ends Meet	p. 51
Preferences	p. 66
Ringing the Changes	p. 81
Instability of the Parts Coherence of the Whole	p. 99
The Masters	p. 101
Introduction to Part Two The Indispensability Of Functional Explanation	p. 103
Montesquieu, Comte And Spencer	p. 123
Durkheim	p. 129
Marx	p. 158
Notes	p. 161
Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown And Parsons	p. 188
Merton, Stinchcombe And Elster	p. 209
Political Cultures	p. 213
Introduction to Part Three Cultures Are Plural, Not Singular	p. 215
The Missing Ways of Life Egalitarianism and Fatalism	p. 231
American Political Subcultures	p. 243
The Civic Culture Reexamined	p. 258
Hard Questions Soft Answers	p. 261
Notes	p. 273
Bibliography of Cultural Theory	p. 277
Index	p. 283
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