Culture

Culture: Macro and Micro Culture

1.Macro Culture

Culture is defined as “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior. Culture thus defined, consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies and other related components” (Britannica 1998:784 vol.3). In another point of view, Hunt and Horton (1964:52) consider culture as a “system of behavior shared by the members of society”, that is to say, culture is the basic element which fortifies and unifies the relations among the members of society. In other words, the culture is the constructor of society since the unity of this latter bases on a set of shared beliefs, customs, values and other activities. So, the absence of a shared culture entails the absence of society absolutely.
If culture is defined as the common and unified pattern of the system of human’s behaviors, culture, in the viewpoint of Ralph Linton, is a means which controls and determines thinking and behaving of the people. That is, people are not free to behave and to think as they want (Haralambos and Holborn .1991:3). To support this argument, Thomas Michel S.J argues that culture is the first teacher of the people since it guides and directs all their actions (religion, culture and tolerance: past and present .1990:108). Similarly, Hunt and Horton (1964:77) describe culture as the real prison for human being since all of his actions relate to it “from before he is born until he is dead”.

2.Micro Culture

Sub-culture (micro-culture) is a part of the dominant culture which all the members of society share. This idea is advocated by Horton and Hunt (1964:64) who argue that all societies do not have a "single culture", but they have a "universal culture" and a complex set of subcultures which reflect some cultural values which characterize one group from another within one society. The clearest support to this argument consists in Broom and Selznick (1977:74) who say that "every group has some pattern of its own".

BY: ABDELMAJID YAQOUBY