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The Culture Cult: Designer Tribalism And Other Essays
The Culture Cult is an acerbic critique of that longing widespread in society today to “retreat from civilization.” From Rousseau and the Noble Savage to modern defenders of ethnicity such as Isaiah Berlin and Karl Polanyi, a prominent intellectual tradition has over-romanticized the virtues of tribal life. In contrast, another tradition, represented by Karl Popper, Michael Polanyi, and Ernest Gellner, defends modern values and civil society. The Culture Cult discusses both sides of this divide between "culture" and "civilization," and between "closed" and "open" societies. The romantic insistence on the superiority of the primitive is increasingly grounded in a fictionalized picture of the past-a picture often created with the aid of well-meaning but misguided anthropologists. Such idealizations work to the detriment of the very people they are meant to help, for they isolate minorities from such undeniable benefits of modern society as literacy and health care, and discourage them from participating in modern life. Few will find comfort in The Culture Cult, but many will recognize a valuable criticism of currently popular social politics.
228 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2000
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About the author
Roger Sandall
2 books3 followersRoger Sandall (b. 1933) was an essayist and commentator on cultural relativism and is best known as the author of The Culture Cult. He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, but spent most of his career in Australia. He became a film director at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies in 1965 and subsequently a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Sydney in 1973, a post he held until he retired in 1993.
Sandall was a strong critic of romantic primitivism and the concept of the noble savage; he was an advocate of modern civilization. In Sandall's view, romantic primitivism places far too high a value on cultures that were often characterised by, among other aspects, limited human rights, religious intolerance, disease and poverty. Other negative aspects he discusses include domestic oppression (usually of women and children), violence, clan/tribal warfare, poor care of the environment and considerable restriction on artistic freedom of expression.
Sandall was a strong critic of romantic primitivism and the concept of the noble savage; he was an advocate of modern civilization. In Sandall's view, romantic primitivism places far too high a value on cultures that were often characterised by, among other aspects, limited human rights, religious intolerance, disease and poverty. Other negative aspects he discusses include domestic oppression (usually of women and children), violence, clan/tribal warfare, poor care of the environment and considerable restriction on artistic freedom of expression.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 1, 2009
Brilliant. It falls in the category of books written against the grain of current intellectual trends, so I read it. It builds on Karl Popper and his book The Open Society and Its Enemies. Multiculturalism has definitely marginalized this area of investigation. I think it's intellectually critical to read in the marginalized areas. So that's what this is. I bought the Popper too, though I don't know when I'll get to that.
The basic point that Sandall makes is that the doctrine of multiculturalism (that every human society is an integral "culture" that should be preserved like a precious flower against the depredations of encroaching civilization) is in fact a sibling of the culturally chauvenistic totalitarianism that was the plague of the 20th century. Multiculturalism did not begin as a movement to save this native New Guinean tribe or that. It began as an effort by German and Swiss intellectuals to tear down French and British achievements by ennobling lesser cultures, namely the Germanic culture of the day. This Romantic trend started by Rousseau and Herder led to the tragedy of the European wars of the last century, with which we are all familiar.
Incredibly thought provoking. For anyone of my generation, this is nothing less than revolutionary. Sandall, calls of back to the meaning of culture advocated by Matthew Arnold in Culture and Anarchy., which is one of my favorite books. I read it while I was young and Arnold's position that the best ideas of the world's best thinkers are there for anyone of whatever background to learn and use, that really gave me strength as a budding autodidact in most areas.
I found this writer after listening to a lecture series on the Incas. The lecturer did not mention the extreme sexual monopoly practiced by Incas among his reasons that they fell so quickly to 168 Spanish. Years ago when writing my book on Costa Rica, I had read of the Inca sexual monopoly practiced by aristocrats. It always dawned on me that it would be hard to get much sacrifice out of your farmer/soldiers if they didn't have one of the most basic elements of life to fight for: sexual access.
I have never though, heard anyone list this in the reasons for their defeat, though the reverse is often mentioned in the reasons for the success of democratic armies: They have families and land to fight for, so they fight harder.
Anyhow, when I googled "inca sexual monopoly" I found this book.
The basic point that Sandall makes is that the doctrine of multiculturalism (that every human society is an integral "culture" that should be preserved like a precious flower against the depredations of encroaching civilization) is in fact a sibling of the culturally chauvenistic totalitarianism that was the plague of the 20th century. Multiculturalism did not begin as a movement to save this native New Guinean tribe or that. It began as an effort by German and Swiss intellectuals to tear down French and British achievements by ennobling lesser cultures, namely the Germanic culture of the day. This Romantic trend started by Rousseau and Herder led to the tragedy of the European wars of the last century, with which we are all familiar.
Incredibly thought provoking. For anyone of my generation, this is nothing less than revolutionary. Sandall, calls of back to the meaning of culture advocated by Matthew Arnold in Culture and Anarchy., which is one of my favorite books. I read it while I was young and Arnold's position that the best ideas of the world's best thinkers are there for anyone of whatever background to learn and use, that really gave me strength as a budding autodidact in most areas.
I found this writer after listening to a lecture series on the Incas. The lecturer did not mention the extreme sexual monopoly practiced by Incas among his reasons that they fell so quickly to 168 Spanish. Years ago when writing my book on Costa Rica, I had read of the Inca sexual monopoly practiced by aristocrats. It always dawned on me that it would be hard to get much sacrifice out of your farmer/soldiers if they didn't have one of the most basic elements of life to fight for: sexual access.
I have never though, heard anyone list this in the reasons for their defeat, though the reverse is often mentioned in the reasons for the success of democratic armies: They have families and land to fight for, so they fight harder.
Anyhow, when I googled "inca sexual monopoly" I found this book.
June 4, 2009
Very strong polemic against the idea of the Noble Savage and the foolishness of back-to-nature movements. Challenges the ideas that cultures may not be measured, that they are all created equal, and that the the only sick culture is Western civilization, when in fact primitive cultures are closed societies by definition, usually more violent, and are not the road to self fulfillment that the various designer tribalisms (various communes that try to get back to nature) think. He traces the intellectual legacy of the Culture Cult (his term for the ideology prevalent in post-war anthropology) back to Rousseau and Herder.
April 29, 2022
This was a very informative book. It is a look at the world of academic psychology, especially since the days of Mead and Benedict. Sandall claims the Boas lowered standards so both could obtain their doctorates. He claims the decision to move away from research that was tainted with biological determinism seemed necessary at the time, as they were headed in the direction of racism. The addition of discussions of cultural factors muted discussions of racial factors. Benedict and Mead valued the cultural discussion for its own sake. It fitted with their alienated romantic love of the other.
He begins with a discussion of Rousseau and bohemianism. He points out that bohemians hate civil society (rootless cosmopolitanism, as he calls it) and uniformity and sameness. But it was not always clear what they could love, until they latched onto the noble savage.
He lists Karl Polanyi, Wittgenstein and Isaiah Berlin as key anti-civilization figures. He sees Mises, Karl Popper and Michael Polanyi as key defenders of civilization. He recommends the works of Ernest Gellner and Adam Kuper.
He discusses all of the failed communist experiments in America.
He concludes by discussing why cultures fail or succeed. He points out that cultures differ wildly in their attitude towards innovation, levels of aggressiveness and a whole host of social and personal factors. Success or failure is to be measured in the ability of a society to provide law, order, security, prosperity and freedom.
The word culture lacks a normative quality that civilization has. Anything can be a culture. There is no evaluative component to the word.
He begins with a discussion of Rousseau and bohemianism. He points out that bohemians hate civil society (rootless cosmopolitanism, as he calls it) and uniformity and sameness. But it was not always clear what they could love, until they latched onto the noble savage.
He lists Karl Polanyi, Wittgenstein and Isaiah Berlin as key anti-civilization figures. He sees Mises, Karl Popper and Michael Polanyi as key defenders of civilization. He recommends the works of Ernest Gellner and Adam Kuper.
He discusses all of the failed communist experiments in America.
He concludes by discussing why cultures fail or succeed. He points out that cultures differ wildly in their attitude towards innovation, levels of aggressiveness and a whole host of social and personal factors. Success or failure is to be measured in the ability of a society to provide law, order, security, prosperity and freedom.
The word culture lacks a normative quality that civilization has. Anything can be a culture. There is no evaluative component to the word.
June 15, 2015
This is a book about how what the left once called Orientalism has been sublimated by the very same people.
Essentialising the other, the dominant culture reproduces (wilfully or otherwise) it's own supremacy. That is what multiculturalism has become. Will the West deal with it? Probably not. But you could always leave the country like I did.
Essentialising the other, the dominant culture reproduces (wilfully or otherwise) it's own supremacy. That is what multiculturalism has become. Will the West deal with it? Probably not. But you could always leave the country like I did.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews