On 5/8/13 9:06 AM, glen ropella wrote:
I share your lament about the homogenization of culture.
What is a counter example of non-homogenization of culture? It seems
to suggest that culture is a thing that leads individuals, rather than
individuals leading it. I've always thought of culture like
education. The people that know, try to tell the people that don't
know so that they don't make a mess of things. (In so doing, they may
well make a mess of things themselves. Which is a possible claim about
television.)
I think the efficiencies we witness, whether it is the content on
television or the billions served at McDonalds or juggernauts like
Costco, are just a reflection of the vast redundancy inherent in a large
population. Most of that population is not in the tails, it is in the
center of the distribution. Culture and education won't change that.
If anything, the problem in the U.S. is that people think their problems
are unique and that their clan is special. So, we fail to factor out
the common bits of everyday life into shared systems like mass
transport, affordable housing, health care, etc.
There's something to be said for put up or shut up. Prove you're
special. Oh, so you're not, here's a nice television for you to watch.
Marcus
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