Societal success hinges on which prestige-valued domains a culture honors.
Evidence
While not infinitely malleable, what constitutes a valued domain is amazingly flexible. The differential success of societies and institutions will hinge, in part, on what domains are valued. How respectable was it to excel in reading, inventing machines, memorizing ancient texts, having children, obtaining additional wives, or growing yams? — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success, 462
Categorization
- SEED: Possible essay: which domains a society signals as prestigious shapes its institutional success — reading, inventing, yams.
- XREF: connects to: Rapid social change deflates age as a prestige cue for knowledge and wisdom. — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 444; Mastery of a society’s codes enables successful passage through its culture; Cultural value is historically mobile as forms move between elite and popular (+6 more)
Broader Connections
- Humanity is implicitly defined through access to high culture
#expands(0.78) — Hamid Dabashi, Brown Skin, White Masks, 54 - A ruler’s worth is judged by lasting cultural legacy
#exemplifies(0.78) — , A Year of World Stories, 4866 - Mastery of a society’s codes enables successful passage through its culture
#expands(0.75) - Cultural stagnation can be reversed by choosing new norms and values
#qualifies(0.75) — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 38 - Cultural value is historically mobile as forms move between elite and popular
#complicates(0.72) - Postindustrial society shifts value from utility to cultural distinctiveness.
#exemplifies(0.70) — Michael H. Goldhaber, The Attention Economy and the Net, 9