Suchergebnisse

As pol'al, perhaps cultural, & certainly econ forms of unity emerge in Western Europe, it becomes increasingly important for Europeans - & for Americans also - to examine sympathetically the US experience in cultural pluralism for areas of relevance to the European situation. Without some of the elements that have gone into the making of a successful US, the Europeans may well succeed in creating material prosperity through their Common Market but fail in other areas, primarily in HR & guaranteed freedoms. The leading strains of cultural pluralism in the US which would be relevant to the European situation are embodied in the federal system, churchstate separation, the absorption of immigration, democracy, & constitutionalism. Europe does not have a good record for democratic gov, & the democratic processes will bear careful watching. The question of the relative positions of church & state is unresolved in many countries in Europe & will pose grave problems. Difficulties can be anticipated in Europe in the area of constitutionalism, because people need a guiding ideal to draw them together. European union to date has been based on reaction to the horrors of war & the fear of Soviet military domination. Without a central principle to hold them together, Europe may lapse from union as the war recedes into the past & the fear of Soviet domination is relaxed. AA.

As political, perhaps cultural, and certainly economic forms of unity emerge in Western Europe, it becomes increasingly important for Europeans—and for Americans also—to examine sympathetically the American experience in cultural pluralism for areas of relevance to the European situation. Without some of the elements that have gone into the making of a successful United States, the Europeans may well succeed in creating material prosperity through their Common Market but fail in other areas, primarily in human relations and guaranteed freedoms. The leading strains of cultural pluralism in the United States which would be relevant to the European situation are embodied in the federal system, church-state separation, the absorption of immigration, democ racy, and constitutionalism. Europe does not have a good record for democratic government, and the democratic proc esses will bear careful watching. The question of the relative positions of church and state is unresolved in many countries in Europe and will pose grave problems. Difficulties can be anticipated in Europe in the area of constitutionalism, because people need a guiding ideal to draw them together. European union to date has been based on reaction to the horrors of war and the fear of Soviet military domination. Without a central principle to hold them together, Europe may lapse from union as the war recedes into the past and the fear of Soviet domination is relaxed.—Ed.

The influence exercised on political life by cultural elements and philosophical ideas is one of the most remarkable characteristics of Latin America (LA). The culture of the LA nations is the product of different and often incompatible factors. Among these are: the diverse American Indian cultures; the theocratic cultures of the Spanish and Portuguese Cath's; the cultural elements imported from Africa; the rationalism of Descartes, Kant, Hegel; the French positivism of Saint-Simon & Comte; the German historicism which through the rationalism of Kant and Hegel brought `humanism' to LA, & finally, the commercialism of the US. To these contradictory influences must be added the racial and religious differences. LA is a remarkable example of unity in diversity. J. E. Hughes.

In contemporary US institutional religion grows with a vigor equalled only in the early decades of the 19th cent. From the earliest days before independence it was realized that religious liberty was the only workable rule in a land of increasing religious diversity. Yet contemporary trends indicate that America is being steadily transformed from a predominantly Protestant into a more or less equally Protestant, Cath & Jewish country. However, in some degree tension & conflict truly mirror the US religious scene; but religious individualism has not obscured the soc vision of the many Churches. IPSA.

The first item on the agenda toward an understanding of Latin American (LA) culture is to question the usefulness of speaking of a single culture. On the contrary, we have a congeries of cultures in LA, interrelated in complex ways, but also genuine and distinct entities. Viewed in this light, it is still possible to speak of LA and the contributions to it by the Indian cultures. But the Indians are not to be judged by what they have contributed to some culture other than their own; they like all the others are justified by their existence. At the time Columbus came to America there was a tremendous difference among Indian groups. For all of the thousands of cultures discernible at the time of first contact, anthropol'ts are now satisfied to divide them into a half dozen large culture areas: The greater southwest, Mesoamerica, the people of the tropical forests and southern Andes, the circum-Caribbean and sub-Andean peoples, the central Andes, and the marginal peoples. These areas differed from each other not only in culture but also in density of pop. After 450 yrs the Indians are still with us. But they have fared quite differently in different areas of LA. In Indo-America (Andes, Mexico, Guatemala) the Indians remain surprisingly in the pre-Conquest pattern because they were so many and could be used more or less as they were. In Mestizo-America (Circum-Caribbean and tropical forest areas) the Indians have generally disappeared or been acculturated. They were village dwellers and had no place to run. They also did not have the mass of pop of the Indo-American areas. In Euro-America the Indian pop was sparse and tribal. Here the Indian remains in tribal groups in the hinterland. The only place, then, where the Indian has substantially disappeared is the Caribbean area, largely because they received the brunt of the first exploitation by Europeans. That the Indians will change their ways and become like us is doubted. There is a continuing process of Indians leaving their communities and becoming acculturated to the national culture. But modern medicine reduces the death rate, and it seems likely that Indian societies will grow faster than they lose adherents. To suppose that out of the present heterogeneity will come a single homogeneous LA culture is only possible if one assumes that the homogeneous European is dominant over the much more heterogeneous Indian. J. E. Hughes.

The present leaders of Communist China, far from wishing to erase the past, are trying to discover what part of the nation's cultural heritage can contribute to the formation of the new order. Thus, ancient writings amtinue to be received favorably, foreign religions seem to be tolerated, undoubtedly for pol'al purposes, the attitude toward Buddhism is determined by the expectation of getting Tibet to accept Communist reforms, & the attitude toward Islam by the hope of enlisting 1-akistani sympathies. If relations with the Cath Church remain strained (since the Church's missionaries are accused of being agents of capitalism), Protestantism benefits from a certain benevolence since it does not resist agrarian policies, nor does it follow the directives of the Holy See, which is looked upon as being pro-American. Modified Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

A new field of sociol is suggested - sociol of internat'l relations, - inter-disciplinary in its general tendency normatively oriented, & problem centered. It should include the study of those soc relations, conditions, & processes which are conducive to the use of force & violence between nations, & should explore whatever types of soc conditions, actions, & relations facilitate the elimination of force & violence between nations. Processes & instit's maintaining peaceful conditions & preventing aggression should be of specific signif. The following areas of study are suggested: (1) structure of internat'l relations. We may distinguish the following groups of relations: (a) interpol'al (between gov's & states), (b) interethnic (between nations as ethnic groups & nation - cultures) & (c) combined (involving simultaneously interethnic & interpol'al relations). Lessening of interethnic tensions, such as between Italy & Germany in Alto Adige, may require methods & techniques diff than interpol'al tensions based above all on power relationship. Tensions between East & West Berlin are purely interpol'al. Tensions in Kashmir are of a combined nature. 3 major types of internat'l relations are: (i) cooperation, (ii) conflict, & (iii) neutrality. There are, however, a large number of variations of these major 3 types. (2) The 2nd area embraces cultural & ethnic values, esp those conducive to conflict or cooperation, instit's, & personality types of pol'al leaders with tendencies toward aggression against racial &, ethnic & pol'ally dissident groups. (3) Soc causation of war is the 3rd major group, closely related to the 1st & 2nd & partially overlapping. (4) Problem solving attempts to find alternative solutions of a given problem, & exercise choice in a given situation. Pluralism is suggested as one of the alternatives. Pluralism as a means of reducing tensions suggests a minimum set of conditions: a minimum set of common values, respect for diff's in values, ideologies & interest which are not vital to the quest of peace, respect for diff's in values & ideologies within the State,protection of the basic individual freedoms, & a set of common interests. AA.