Conference paper
The Values of Traditional Culture in Social Development
Stipe Šuvar
; Department of Sociology, Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia - Yuqoslavia
Abstract
Under traditional culture the author of the article understands the culture of pre-industrial
civilizatian in general.
Starting from the view that values are acquired in the course of the socialization of the individual
in childhood and youth, the author states that a great majority of Yugoslavia's
population descend from rural communities where the primary groups are generaUy still
imbued with the values of traditional culture ar its rural projection. In developing modem
society and modem culture people introduce into them the valu es and mentality of traditian
al society and culture.
The pre-industrial system of values affects the development of contemporary Yugoslav society
as a whole through slowing down change in production techniques and acting as a
break on the industrial organization of work. It also tends to maintain a statical production,
avoidance of production risks, and indifference to innovations and to principles of
work rationalization, discipline and efficiency.
In the pre-industrial society it was kin ship family, and the local community that determined
the life circle of the individual, while in modem sociery he plays numerous in specialized
institutions.
In contemporary Yugoslav society too adherence to the values of traditional culture leads
to such trends as extreme familiarism, cian and clique connections, rule of informal
groups, and subordination to patemalistic authority. There is a general tendency to transfer
the social system of the traditional local community to functional institutions which -
among other things - diminishes the role of the self-management system which is being
developed by Yugoslav contemporary society.
The author calls for systematic empirical researches on the effect of cultural values on social development. for these alone would make it possible to establish with any certainty
the actual effect of the values of traditional culture.
Keywords
social development; traditional culture; values; modern society
Hrčak ID:
99605
URI
Publication date:
21.9.2003.
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