Will culture be a thing of the past in the future?

[kvnchrist]

I've always been one that thinks international borders, National currency, Different languages are a thing that is destined to be eradicated in the future. It just seems that such things were important when major distances were an impediment to travel and people were interested in national identities, it seems more to separate themselves from others and think they were somehow better or purer than other people.

 

I think that culture is more about remembering where a people came from instead of where they are going and I really don't see it as of any benefit for the future. I mean with cooking styles and wardrobes spanning every style imaginable will be easily accessible, I really think that within a few hundred years, will culture be anything more than a gimmick to entrap tourists money.

 

I'm thinking along the lines of a Star Trek world here, that is if people can get over themselves long enough to see the benefits of embracing others for who they are inside.

[Vagrant0]

Short answer is no.

 

While it inevitable that global culture (mostly Western) will have a significant influence in the lives of people, people will still have their own local influences on culture for a long time to come. And in places where pre-existing culture plays no significant role, people will simply develop their own cultures simply out of the need of being different.

[Tidus44]

I'd hate to see the loss of culture - of any kind.

 

As for the Star Trek world, the different cultures were embraced and celebrated for the most part, and were a huge part of the series and the movies.

Look at the details brought out about the Vulcan culture, the Klingons and Romulans.

 

The whole idea of Star Trek was to bring out the ideals of the 1960's in regards to race relations, equality and peace and just getting along together no matter who you or others are. We forget what was happening in the world in the 1960's, but the idea of a Russian and an Asian working together and with obviously Americans was just unheard of at the time (Shatner/Kirk is Canadian and wore a stylized maple leaf on his dress uniform in the series. Compare the two images below.

 

http://www.startrek.com/boards-topic/33329084/KIRK_1241454465_33329084

http://aqua-velvet.com/2010/09/stuart-ash-canadian-centennial-logo-1967/

 

Consider the time and there was a TV show with a woman of African descent playing something other than some minor bit part - OMG! at the time. The show even had the first interracial kiss ever shown on Network TV.

 

What the society of Star Trek had left behind was not culture, but the petty and irrational prejudices about different cultures.

 

The world would be an extremely boring place without culture and good or bad it will always be around.

Edited October 27, 2013 by Tidus44

[kvnchrist]

I am speaking of a type of one world government, but far into the future to which I would hope that capitalism would be a thing of the past and materialism would be non-existent. Social structures would not be reliant on what you possessed but how much you had to contribute to society.

Scientists, Doctors, teachers and academics would be more highly prized than football players and education would be the highest priority with research following close behind. I think this addiction to physical prowess has lead us to idolize people who rarely do anything to make life more bearable and the massive incomes these people are getting is causing a debilitating effect on our youth.

I don't know the percentages, but I would wager there are more kids out there interested in the NBA than Chemistry and physics, because the later isn't as glorified and takes less work to prepare themselves for. Then you have the costs associated with education as opposed to a scout coming to see you throw a ball through a metal ring.

As far as culture goes, I was thinking more along the way of the differences between cultures would be so intermixed with one another that the sheer amount of diversity would amalgamate all cultures into one homogenous mass, thereby dissolving yet another area of possible contention.

Social and cultural traditions would not necessarily end, but would be prioritized so as to gain the best benefit to as many as possible, but yet celebrated by all who wish to indulge themselves, without the prejudice of others. society would have a better understanding of these traditions and be able to acknowledge their importance to those who find them vital.

[Vagrant0]

As for the Star Trek world, the different cultures were embraced and celebrated for the most part, and were a huge part of the series and the movies.

Actually, I would like to chime in and point out that Star Trek is actually a pretty bad model for cultural diversity. Main reason being that for the most part, humanity lost most of its own individual cultural backgrounds and became this sort of homogenous "human" culture. Sure, there were minor mentions to those last semblances of culture... like food, the those things that we consider as being culturally significant were mostly all washed away or grouped up as some collectivist "human" thing. Including religion.

 

Similarly, almost every single civilization that was encountered was also largely homogenous with subsets within major races only being mentioned in the novels. Those ones that had cultural distinctions within a race usually were those races which had a major rift (Vulcan and Romulan), or were ones which were rejected from joining the federation.

 

Arguably, the very mission of Star Trek was in response to the death of Human culture and the need to go out and explore new worlds just to find something new or different (to fight or to induct).

 

 

As for who would likely be most prized in the future... I would have to say that it would still be athletes, actors, writers, game designers or other entertainers. Reason one being that those sorts of professions are ultimately what keeps a society from going into entropy since they are the ones that inspire new ideas, create new questions, or simply provide reprieve so that you can return to work with a fresh mind.

[Tidus44]

Yes, I suppose one can take the negative view that Star Trek was about a dying (or dead) culture that was so bereft of identity it began looking throughout the universe to either absorb or destroy whatever they found in the hope of finding meaning or purpose.

My only response is we do tend to see what we want to see to satisfy our own personal values.

 

While cultural diversity can be seen as a negative, it is also a positive and really the point was not about diversity, but simply about culture. Culture being about attaining the very highest standards in whatever it is one attempts to achieve without thought of reward or recognition or materialistic gain. The culture of Star Trek for me was about the universe and nature being divine (in a spiritual scientific way) and it amalgamated science and religion into a concern for all life forms and nature with its faith based on common sense, an open mind, being open to evidence and being one's own spiritual guide.

 

Maybe I'm wrong in believing this should be what one should strive for as a cultural aspect, but then again, everyone is entitled to believe what they want.

[HeyYou]

I beleive that long before we achieve 'cultural homogeneity', the human race will have successfully killed itself off, or, significantly reduced it's population at the very least. We are self-destructive, that appears to be universal across all cultures.

[Keanumoreira]

The thing I love about culture is that it's always fluctuating, always mixing, always changing. It's what holds us together as a civilization, a kind of stubborn glue. I don't think it's ever going to disappear. It might decline, as it has numerous times before, and sure, it may even break apart, but even when shattered, culture finds a way to bounce back, and it always bounces back with something new. If you think about it, culture is like a sort of glass. when you break it, you can't quite put it back together the way it used to be, because there's always going to be crack or two. Take the collapse of the Roman empire for example. It rose again as Byzantium in the east, and in the west, it became a radical culture of its own, a blend of German, Roman, and Christian influences (better known as the Latin Middle Ages). Any who, the point I'm trying to make is that you can't really get culture to stay the same, at least not for very long. It's always going to change into something new. It's unique, like us, considering that it's our product. That's the way I view it. :)

[Nintii]

I seriously doubt this will ever happen.

Your first and greatest hurdle will be language.

And no one will be prepared to part with theirs.

This is what gives people identity.

I doubt whether you are aware of how bound various cultures are to theirs.

What makes a German a German or Chinese person Chinese ?

Not the country where they live but their language.

Only by destroying or removing this impossible barrier can you even hope to begin your Utopia.

That type of grey culture you propose has zero chance of succeeding.

As long as any two or more people speak a different language - there will always be a visible

and clearly defined barrier between cultures.