Dialectics: Culture and Government

In our current events group on Friday, we discussed the increasing amount of female abortion in India. Eventually, this led us to discuss the relationship between India's culture, traditions, and beliefs, and India's government and politics. We talked about how large a role culture plays in society versus the government, and how powerful each was.

Some argued that culture is more effective and has a larger impact on people than the government. You are completely immersed in the culture of your society at all times, and it is very important to fit into this culture if one wants to survive. Culture is not as formal as the government and its laws are, which can make it easier to follow for some people. Culture is something that brings people together, and is therefore very important for our society.

Government is very important for obvious reasons, but sometimes we feel more a cultural presence in our day to day lives. But when we analyze the relationship between the two, we see that both are important for controlling different aspects of life. Government provides the order while our culture provides our unique identity.

Yet we need both culture and government in order to be successful, and the most important thing is to find a balance between the two.