Comments on: Traditional Cultural Traits https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/traditional-cultural-traits/ From the ancient Greek for equality in freedom of speech; an eclectic mix of thoughts, large and small Fri, 01 May 2026 21:33:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6.1 By: Tim Gilley https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/traditional-cultural-traits/comment-page-1/#comment-1488671 Tim Gilley Wed, 27 Aug 2014 06:18:51 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35931#comment-1488671 Barnabas:

In response to your devil’s advocate point of Western culture’s domination, I would say egalitarianism is one of the strongest factors. In traditional culture, especially the tribe, a person’s place in the world is determined by the culture, not the aspirations of the individual. Since the “natural” state of a person desires to attain the best for themselves, the “all men are created equal” concept unleashes endless possibilities for the individual, while reducing the influence of the tribe.

]]> By: Barnabas https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/traditional-cultural-traits/comment-page-1/#comment-1482318 Barnabas Mon, 25 Aug 2014 12:06:45 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35931#comment-1482318 I think about martial arts. You could spend hours a week training in martial arts for years. Those are hours that you didn’t spend doing something else like making money. Now how usefull are the skills I have learned? If I stay in a certain neighborhood it is almost guaranteed that I will never require those skills. If I go to a violent neighborhood then those skills are of marginal benefit since my adversary likely took the modern quick and easy option and bought a gun.

]]> By: Barnabas https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/traditional-cultural-traits/comment-page-1/#comment-1482307 Barnabas Mon, 25 Aug 2014 12:03:21 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35931#comment-1482307 Allow me to play devil’s advocate. Was the seal hunter not also seeking material goods, status, sex, food and vanity? He was using the easiest route available to him in that context which happened to be very arduous. Perhaps the reason that Western culture (anti-culture?) is able to out compete traditional cultures so decisively is that it promises to provide the same payoff with minimal investment of time, effort, or natural ability.

]]> By: Tim Gilley https://www.isegoria.net/2014/08/traditional-cultural-traits/comment-page-1/#comment-1474111 Tim Gilley Sat, 23 Aug 2014 07:24:06 +0000 http://www.isegoria.net/?p=35931#comment-1474111 Traditional culture requires a stable moral foundation. The post-modern society rejects this in favor of situational ethics and moral relativism. Also we think of the strong individual as hunter and survivor. In modern society the concept of the individual is an anachronism as all encroaching government dissuades people to act on their own.

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