Preserving the past functions as a form of identity preservation

Evidence

The impulse to preserve the past is part of the impulse to preserve the self. Without knowing where we have been, it is difficult to know where we are going. The past is the foundation of individual and collective identity, objects from the past are the source of significance as cultural symbols. Continuity be­ tween past and present creates a sense of sequence out of aleatory chaos and, since change is inevitable, a stable system of ordered meaning enables us to cope with both innovation and decay. — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, 539

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s article ‘On Sacrifice’ and broader work on how ritual/nostalgia preserve collective identity through crisis.