Individual customs interlock into broader macro-conventions called paradigms
Evidence
Each status group contains a multitude of distinct conventions, which all interlock through a strong internal logic. The custom for brides to wear white offers a logical parallel to the custom for widows to wear black. As we examine micro-conventions, we can discover broader macro-conventions acting as a “horizon” to which they all conform. Paradigm describes these macro-conventions—the underlying beliefs of a group that set the overall rules for permissible actions, offer guideposts in times of uncertainty, and build the frameworks for understanding and explanation. — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 138
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines ‘paradigm’ in Marx’s sense of macro-conventions forming a horizon for micro-customs.
- XREF: connects to: Culture is composed of discrete units called conventions — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 142; Conventions are arbitrary practices that coordinate choices where several options are equally viable — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 119; Humans rationalize arbitrary customs post hoc rather than recognizing their contingency (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Forgotten origins make arbitrary conventions feel like nature’s order
#expands(0.88) — W. David Marx, Status and Culture, 131 - Societal requirements transform into self-justifying norms devoid of social origin
#expands(0.85) - Humans rationalize arbitrary customs post hoc rather than recognizing their contingency
#corroborates(0.83) - Autonomous cultural spheres internally duplicate the social and economic macrocosm’s structures
#exemplifies(0.82) — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 51 - Conforming to prejudicial norms is as automatic as other social conventions
#exemplifies(0.80) - Paradigmatic characterization of civilizations need not reduce them to essences
#qualifies(0.80) - Colonial rule operated through habit-taking into existing conventions and commonsense
#exemplifies(0.78)