People who are dominated play a role in cultural dominance, but how is cultural dominance possible? Cultural dominance is control and power enforced by a country or group over individuals. In Karen Armstrong’s essay “Homo Religiosus” she talks about how the relationship between myth, art, and religion has changed over time. In Ethan Watters’ essay “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan” he talks about how pharmaceutical companies in the west are trying to change the meaning of depression and market it to the Japanese people, for the benefits of themselves, rather than the Japanese people. In Karen Ho’s essay “Biographies of Hegemony” she addresses the issue of Wall Street recruitment on college campuses, as well as Ivy League students …show more content…
wanting to meet the expectations of their institutions. Cultural dominance is very prominent in today’s society especially with the economic advantages that one can to seek by being the dominant force, similar to how dictators rule their people. As society continuously advances, it is relatively evident that money can be portrayed as a luxury that not every individual can afford. The more society advances, the more lavishly people live. The upper class is sitting perched up in their million dollar mansions, while most of society lives normal, easy-going lives just trying to make ends meet. To illustrate this, Armstrong states, “The tribe cannot afford the luxury of allowing an adolescent to “find himself” Western- style; he has to relinquish the dependency of infancy and assume adulthood overnight” (Armstrong 5). Armstrong implies that the western- style of life is very luxurious and that not everybody is fortunate enough to have these luxuries. Therefore, these boys who are individuals, just like those of the west are not as privileged to grow up in luxury, but rather just making ends meet and doing the unconventional way of the west to grow up. The boys in Armstrong’s essay are expected to grow up in a matter of a day, whereas the boys of the west have the luxury of spending most of their teens years growing into adulthood. In addition to the claims asserted by Armstrong, which depict how the wealthy are “better off” than the middle class, Ho says, “This conflation of elite universities with investment banking and “the perfect lifestyle” is crucial to the recruitment process, reproducing as it does the ambience of Wall Street cocktail parties, where investment bankers “schmooze clients” in lavish, impeccably catered setting” (Ho 177). Ho suggests a sarcastic remark by quoting “perfect lifestyle” because the bankers make the students believe that the life of an investment banker is perfect, but that is far from the truth. Although, the life of an investment banker has its perks, it is not all the fun and games that it is made out to be, but rather a lot of work with little amounts of fun. In today’s society people are sold by money and luxurious items or perks, that is how these big companies, investment bankers, and even cultures win over individuals and are able to control cultural dominance. Every individual is out for their personal economic benefits, similarly to how dictators rule. Dictators do not care about the individuals in their country, but rather themselves. They want to do what will get them ahead in society, not what will get their people ahead in society. In today’s world, one can hypothesize that the rich keep getting wealthier and the poor continually show no economic improvement because of the little care for individuals. The dominant forces do not care about the individuals, but rather the benefits that they can get. High authority personnel do not care about the individuals they serve as long as they make money and make money for their company or cause at the same time. To illustrate, Watters exclaims, “To make Paxil a hit in Japan, it would not be enough to corner the small market of those diagnosed with utsubyô” (Watters 516). Watters implies by saying “hit” that the pharmaceutical companies are comparing the drug Paxil to a great movie or song. In other words, GlaxoSmithKline and other pharmaceutical companies do not care what they sell their customers as long as it flies off the shelfs. Likewise, Ho states, ‘The “vigorous college recruiting season” is usually capped off with elaborate “sell days” to encourage seniors to accept the job. Such perks include “ski trips to Utah and dinners at Lahiere’s” (Ho 175). Ho by quoting “sell days” is implying that the companies will do whatever it takes by wowing these Ivy League students so that they will take the job with them even though the job may not actually be as desirable as it is sold to be. These investment bankers are making it seem like a job with them is an item that can be purchased and the students are the ones trying to buy that item. In both Watters and Ho’s cases the companies solely care about the economic interest of themselves rather than the individuals they are selling to. The companies would rather see themselves be successful and profitable, rather than see the individuals they are trying to help succeed. Similarly, to how investment bankers would try to sell their job or pharmaceutical companies would market their drug, dictators do the same to the people of their country sometimes brainwashing them to believe the wrong thing is really the right thing to do. The individuals tend to only care about themselves and their economic interests, rather than the economic interests of the group ultimately, contributing to the shaping of cultural dominance. The leaders of groups, companies, and or organizations contribute a lot to the cultural dominance in today’s society.
These entities are the ones who influence and control how the people that are below them think and act. Moreover, Armstrong says, “Religion was not something tacked on to the human condition, an optional extra imposed on people by unscrupulous priests” (Armstrong 6). Armstrong implies that the priest’s force their views on people and the people who follow the priest’s in other words agree and support what the priest say. Therefore, the priest’s are controlling a whole religion by just the way they act and or talk, especially when the economic interests are in their favor. In addition, Ho exclaims, “It is important to pause here to acknowledge that many of these students are of course quite aware of how the culture of smartness, as coproduced by elite universities, students, and Wall Street, capitalizes on, monopolizes, and narrows students’ interests” (Ho 181). Ho implies by saying “capitalizes” and “monopolizes” that Wall Street is profiting from the students and they are seen as money. The bankers try to persuade and entice these students so they follow them and take the job with that bankers company. In the first case from Armstrong, most of the people involved are not aware of the dominance the priest’s are exerting, but in the second case, in Ho’s essay, the students are more aware of the dominance being exerted, rather they just fall into the trap of the investment bankers. Ultimately, two different situations, the leaders of the particular group are gaining followers in order to make a profit, and or persuade those individuals’ decisions by telling them what they want to here. These situations are comparable to how a dictator runs a country; as the leader the dictator keeps their economic interest in mind in order to persuade and win over the votes and or the support of the citizens. Needless to say, a person of high power uses
their economic interest to dominate others and the money is the stimulant that makes this possible because nobody wants to challenge the authority or the person with all the money. The idea of making money brings out the worst and greed in people today and more and more as society continues to evolve. When people realize there is an opportunity to make money or gain money or benefits, people will take whatever means possible to be successful. Likewise, Watters states, “In hopes of softening the connotations of the word, the marketers hit upon a metaphor that proved remarkably effective. Depression, they repeated in advertising and promotional material, was kokoro no kaze, like “a cold of the soul” (Watters 524). Watters implies by saying “softening” and “effective” that GlaxoSmithKline would rather change the name of depression then to clearly educate the Japanese people. GlaxoSmithKline clearly has their eye on the monetary prize rather than the health of the Japanese people. The pharmaceutical companies will do whatever it takes to get their drug on the shelf from marketing, by trying to convince the people that the medicine is really good for them when there is a total lack of evidence. Finally, Ho states, “Investment banks and consulting firms dominate the early fall career fairs, setting the terms for what constitutes a successful career (and what it looks like), and monopolize the attention of the student body by showing up with the most polish, fanfare, and numbers” (Ho 171). Ho implies, that these investment banks and consulting firms set the career path for these extremely smart students and they will do whatever it takes because these companies see these students as money for their company. Companies will use their economic standing to persuade and or entice students to work for their company. In both cases a company is using their financial standing to ultimately control and assert power over a culture by telling trying to tell them what the best is for them, even though it is not the best thing for the individual. Similarly, a dictator may use his financial standing to control what people do because more than likely they controls the economy. The dictator like the companies above do not care about the people to who they are advertising to but rather the economic advantages they gain by gaining those individuals as followers. The conclusion can be made that when money is involved people tend to be greedy and care more about themselves as a whole or as a group rather than the people they are trying to help. Similar to how a dictator runs their countries, as society advances the role of the economy starts to make cultural dominance more and more noticeable in today’s society. As society advances the money that one has is seen as a luxury that not everybody is fortunate to have in today’s day and age. The dominant forces in cultural dominance today could care less what about the individual that they are trying to help, but rather care more about their own financial benefits. Leaders of these big corporations and organizations play a big role in contributing to the cultural dominance in today’s society. The idea of making money always brings the worst and greed out of people. In the end the economy plays a huge role in making cultural dominance possible in today’s ever growing society. Ultimately, money is what drives people and what in end drives the culture and the cultural dominance in today’s society.
In the first chapter of Nathan Hatch’s book, The Democratization of American Christianity, he immediately states his central theme: democratization is central to understanding the development of American Christianity. In proving the significance of his thesis, he examines five distinct traditions of Christianity that developed in the nineteenth century: the Christian movement, Methodists, Baptists, Mormons and black churches. Despite these groups having diverse structural organization and theological demeanor, they all shared the commonality of the primacy of the individual conscience.
Religion can be a powerful form of indoctrination. Religion in the case of Orgon and Voltaire’s situations were used to bypass all critical thought and vetting of their respective influencers. Malice and ignorance often lead to the same conclusions, but intention is key. By aligning with their subjects’ belief systems and establishing themselves, Tartuffe and Pangloss respectively, as powers of authority could sway their subordinates. Though Tartuffe and Pangloss both have authority and hidden motives; the overall means and intentions vary in their approaches.
Solomon, Norman. "New House Rules: Christianity, Economics, and Planetary Living."Subverting Greed: Religious Perspectives on the Global Economy. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2002. 96-117. Print.
More than forty-five thousand years ago, there have existed two types of bipedal humans, the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, but only one has survived. The survivors were the humans who we are comprised out of and still breathing and living today the Homo sapiens. Some scientist say that the lack of imagination was the key factor to the Neanderthals demise, while the Homo sapiens with a broader imagination lived on. In Karen Armstrong’s essay “Homo religiosus” she describes her time in the caverns of Lascaux, while she explains the painting on the walls as part of the ancient civilization’s rituals. The painting tells us a story of their daily lives and the myths in which they believe in, that keeps them in a peace of mind. As there were many
Iris Murdoch, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, was known as one of the most important novelist in English during the twentieth century. In her 26 novels, she explores interesting aspects of psychology and philosophy. In her piece Morality and Religion, she states, “the most evident bridge between morality and religion is the idea of virtue” (Murdoch 363). To some, virtue is still considered a positive idea to pursue, while to others virtue has faded, has lost its positive meaning, and it is now considered “priggishness” or “rigidity”. Murdoch is saying that “the idea” of virtue may be out dated, that it instead is now something that is self-indulging. “An idea (concept) of virtue which not be formally reflective or clarified bears some resemblance to religion, so that one might say either that it is a shadow of religion, or religion is a shadow of it” (Murdoch 363). Virtue and morality are not necessarily interchangeable, but religion and virtue both have duty in common.
The message of political alignment is a vast and varying concept, one that will be debated for as a long as party divisions exist. This divide however exists in not just the Christian community. We begin with the metaphor of a shepherds flock, blindly following what an individual says over ones own thinking. Boyd furthers this concept of alignment and how “many who left sincerely believe there is little ambiguity in how true Christian faith translates into politics. Since God is against abortion, Christians should vote for the pro-life candidate, they believe- and the preacher should say so” (Boyd 2). This blind adherence to one topic, one issue is unfortunately a failure on an intellectual level of all people, whether Christian or not. The
As children, we are often told stories, some of which may have practical value in the sense of providing young minds with lessons and morals for the future, whereas some stories create a notion of creativity and imagination in the child. In Karen Armstrong’s piece, “Homo Religiosus”, a discussion of something similar to the topic of storytelling could translate to the realm of religion. Armstrong defines religion as a, “matter of doing rather than thinking” (17) which she describes using an example in which adolescent boys in ancient religions, who were not given the time to “find themselves” but rather forced into hunting animals which ultimately prepares these boys to be able to die for their people, were made into men by the process of doing.
To achieve this, “banking firms provide [them] with a way to maintain [their] elite status in society by providing avenues to wealth and power that other professions do not” (179). They leave them unconsciously with an ultimatum, to either continue living their prestigious lifestyle and be the in the top with the elites, or settle for lower than what they’ve worked for, which is any other career path. Students who attend Princeton and Harvard who aspire to become teachers or writers are told they are settling for less than what they deserve and will be “more happy” with an investment banking career. There is a subtle form of manipulation being acted upon prospective students from investment bankers which is hidden by all of the positive, glamorous stigmas of Wall Street. To fully understand Wall Street as a whole, someone must know the small components that make it come together as a whole. This is shown through Karen Ho’s observations such as learning that students at Princeton and Harvard do not need to hold a finance degree to obtain a job on Wall Street. Whereas, Yale and Brown students must have a finance degree and are forced to show their abilities at a higher level than Princeton and Harvard students. Underneath all the dashing appearances and smart conversations on Wall Street, there is a hidden bias and a constant manipulation system in order for them to get what they want. The small components of Wall Street consist of their “small” priorities,
The rest of the article went on to elaborate on how the American attachment to "dominance models of manhood," according to Amanda Marcotte of Salon, is a significant factor as to why or culture has such high levels of violence. Supporting aggressiveness, physicality, and anger within masculinity makes it toxic and harms
He contends that the middle and business classes of Rochester were the largest and earliest embracers of religious revivalism. Evangelical religious conversion provided the middle class and business owners with ethical codes to de jure guide their behavior and put forward a public image of virtue. The tendencies of these religious revivalist groups to emphasize individual effort in spiritual fulfillment, self-control, and the virtue of acting to improve conditions in the world, could be interpreted to compliment their place within a democratic capitalist
Karen Armstrong’s A History of God is an extremely thorough and comprehensive piece of work which explores the complexities of how human beings have perceived God historically and presently. Karen Armstrong, a British journalist, is well-known for her published works, which include Through the Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase, typically concerning comparative religion. As a former nun, Armstrong is able to reflect not only about her experiences, but also her spiritual awakening in which she discovers and relates the intricate fundamentals of the three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The purpose of this review is to provide an elaborate analysis of how effectively Karen Armstrong was able to demonstrate her
Williams, O. F. Catholic Social Teaching: A Communitarian Democratic Capitalism for the New World Order. Journal of Business Ethics, 1993.Vol.12, no.12 p. 919-923.
One supreme culture has yet to exist because a supreme culture will never exist. Everyone who abides by set laws is the same and is entitled to equal treatment. Unfortunately that has also never been the case in America. Someone representing a conceited culture always believes they must be entitled to more than another because they are somehow better the others. Arguments between culture lead to violence which twists the argument into a hate match that is never a solution. Support of this belief is given by Tannen who said, “That’s the problem. More and more these days, journalists, politicians and academics treat public discourse as an argument-not in the sense of making an argument, but in the sense of having one, of having a fight” (476). Tannen’s “The Triumph of the Yell” describes exactly the illogical and negative tactics people decide to use in order to win an argument. Through yell...
All muslims are terrorists, all catholic priests are child molesters, all Jews are greedy, money-crunchers. Sickening stereotypes like these are examples of why, in today’s society, religion is such a touchy subject. There is an atmosphere of emotion surrounding religion because many people believe that religion and conflict are often associated with each other. Most of the time, the debate about religion is whether or not it is violent and oppressive or peaceful and stimulates equity. In some cases, extremists use religion as an excuse to terrorize others and gain power. Author Gordon Allport discusses in his book, The Individual and his Religion, many major types of religion. In addition, Allport investigates the
For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.