The Need to Re-Culture

The Basic Issue

It is interesting that cultural issues arise amidst the whirl of institutional restructuring. The marginalized poor who live in flavellas just outside the opulent sections of South American cities are an affront to our sensibilities, and cry out for justice and equity. However, once those flavellas are moved beyond the range of a wide-angle camera shot the pressure for change drops, and we return to our ordinary daily round.

Some people raise the need to look more deeply at the cultural issues at this time, citing

• "September 11th" events, women's rights,
• the protests of world trade talks (or are those really cries for the status quo?),
• native marginalization,
• the phenomenon of people stowing away in freight containers to get into the country,
• and the fact it takes 95% of the world's tranquilizers to tolerate this continent's lifestyle.

Change seems to be upon us on a global scale. However the questions remain:

• is it intentional change?
• whose intentions get to predominate?
• who, if anybody will be marginalized this round?
• what kind of a world do we want anyway?

Of course, the original and basic question underlies all of this, is or is not God recognized as being at the center of everything, and do we wish to draw our life source from him or "figure it out for ourselves, thank you very much"?

Rural Development Institute Research Studies

• "Relations among Rural Institutions in Alberta" -Toby Williams in Chapter 10 of Changing Rural Institutions
  This paper is an excellent presentation of the human side of community economic development. The author deals with the deeper need to "re-culture" as well as re-institutionalize. By this she means, we need to look at our feelings, beliefs and practices generally which underlie the institutions we establish or restructure.

  Her paper is in two sections, , and looks at

  1. Why people work together, (especially in a province like Alberta which is known for its independent thought and life). She looks at three common theories.
  2. How people work together. Here, she notes that understanding how labor is divided up amongst lenders, business, communities, and government is critical to making adjustments in institutions which are for the betterment of all.

Other Resources