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12-1-2008
Culture eory
Olivier Serrat
Asian Development Bank
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Culture eory
Abstract
{Excerpt} Some needs are common to all people—at all times and in all places. ey are the need to make a
living, the need for social organization, the need for knowledge and learning, the need for normative and
metaphysical expression, and the need for aesthetic manifestation. ese nuts and bolts of everyday lifework
through the co-evolving realms of environment, economy, society, polity, and technology to make up systems
of mutual sustainability or (in opposition) mutual vulnerability.
Since people (not economies) are the main object and ultimate purpose of endeavors to progress, a society’s
cultureis not just an instrument of development cooperation: it is its basis. e marriage of economy and
environment was overdue and has spawned a world agenda for that purpose. Likewise, the relationship
between culture and development should be claried and deepened in ways that are authentic, indigenous,
self-reliant, sovereign, civilized, and creative.
Culture theory is a branch of anthropology, semiotics, and other related social science disciplines such as
political economy, in particular, but also sociology and communication (to name a few). It seeks to dene
heuristic concepts of culture. Hence, cultural studies oen concentrate on how a particular phenomenon
relates to maers of ideology, nationality, ethnicity, social class, and gender. e potential for application is
correspondingly vast—it follows that practitioners of culture theory draw from a diverse array of theories and
associated practices and encompass many dierent approaches, methods, and academic perspectives. And so,
it remains relatively unstructured as an academic eld that needs to move from “Let’s” to “How.” Taking
culture into account should mean understanding how cultural dimensions enter utility and production
functions of various kinds. In the case of development agencies and their partner countries, new processes of
policyanalysis and participatory management should surely be devised so that non-economic social sciences
become full partners in the decision-making concerning the policy andinvestment decisions that guide
business processes. Much remains to be done.
Keywords
Asian Development Bank, ADB, poverty, economic growth, sustainability, development
Comments
Suggested Citation
Serrat, O. (2010). Culture theory. Washington, DC: Asian Development Bank.
Required Publisher's Statement
is article was rst published by the Asian Development Bank (www.adb.org)
is article is available at DigitalCommons@ILR: hp://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/intl/102
Knowledge
Solutions December 2008 | 22
Culture theory
strengthens the
expectation that
markets work,
not because they
are comprised
of autonomous
individuals who
are free of social
sanctions but because
they are powered
by social beings
and their distinctive
ideas, beliefs, values,
and knowledge.
It can contribute
to understanding
and promoting
development where
group relationships
predominate and
individualism
is tempered.
Culture Theory
by Olivier Serrat
Rationale
Some needs are common to all people—at all times and in all
places. They are the need to make a living, the need for social
organization, the need for knowledge and learning, the need
for normative and metaphysical expression, and the need for
aesthetic manifestation. These nuts and bolts of everyday life
work through the co-evolving realms of environment, econ-
omy, society, polity, and technology to make up systems of
mutual sustainability or (in opposition) mutual vulnerability.
Since people (not economies) are the main object and
ultimate purpose of endeavors to progress, a society’s cul-
ture is not just an instrument of development cooperation: it is its basis. The marriage of
economy and environment was overdue and has spawned a world agenda for that purpose.
Likewise, the relationship between culture and development should be claried and deep-
ened in ways that are authentic, indigenous, self-reliant, sovereign, civilized, and creative.
Denition
Culture, dened in its broadest sense, is the totality of a society’s distinctive ideas, beliefs,
values, and knowledge. It exhibits the ways humans interpret their environments.
Applications
Culture theory is a branch of anthropology, semiotics, and other related social science
disciplines such as political economy, in particular, but also sociology and communication
(to name a few). It seeks to dene heuristic concepts of culture. Hence, cultural studies
often concentrate on how a particular phenomenon relates to matters of ideology, national-
ity, ethnicity, social class, and gender.11 The potential for application is correspondingly
vast—it follows that practitioners of culture theory draw from a diverse array of theories
and associated practices and encompass many different approaches, methods, and aca-
demic perspectives.22 And so, it remains relatively unstructured as an academic eld that
needs to move from “Let’s” to “How.” Taking culture into account should mean under-
standing how cultural dimensions enter utility and production functions of various kinds.
In the case of development agencies and their partner countries, new processes of policy
analysis and participatory management should surely be devised so that non-economic
social sciences become full partners in the decision-making concerning the policy and
investment decisions that guide business processes. Much remains to be done.
1 Increasingly, cultural studies also focus on the interface of information and communication technologies and
society.
2 For instance, one branch of culture theory places a primary importance on the cultural institutions that are
involved in the production, dissemination, and consumption of culture.
Knowledge
Solutions
2
Characteristics
Therefore, approaches to cultural studies are likely to range widely. However, Ziauddin Sardar sees that most
tend to share the following characteristics
• They aim to examine their subject matter in terms of cultural practices and their relation to power.
• They aim to understand culture in all its complex forms and to analyze the social and political contexts in
which it manifests itself.
• They consider culture as both the object of study and the location of political criticism and action.
• They expose and attempt to reconcile knowledge divides to overcome the split between tacit cultural knowl-
edge and objective (so-called universal) forms of knowledge.
• They are committed to an ethical evaluation of society, and to political action.
Benets
Culture theory’s holistic perspective, englobing the needs common to all people, does not lend itself to easy ac-
tion. But, culture theory alone pays simultaneous and even attention to these needs and makes possible a focus
on the whole and the parts, on contexts and contents, on values and value systems, and on strategic relation-
ships between key variables, countries, blocs of countries, and human beings and the natural environment. And
so, it yields conceptual insights and practical benets and allows informed choices and intelligent decisions to
be made about the future. It enables us, for instance, to deal better with complexity and fragmentation—the
emphasis is on systems rather than on parts of systems. And it helps to ensure that economies are contextual-
ized properly and pointed in the right direction. For those reasons, among others, they can be constrained and
enriched by the larger cultures in which they are located. Consequently, they stop functioning as self-governing
entities. Also, by focusing on the totality and innate worth of a given society, culture theory can minimize the
ethnocentric bias that results from one’s cultural conditioning.
Further Reading
Deborah Eade (Ed.). 2002. Development and Culture: Selected Essays from Development in Practice. Oxford:
Oxfam GB in association with World Faiths Development Dialogue.
Lawrence Harrison and Samuel Huntington (Eds.). 2001. Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress.
New York: Basic Books.
Ziauddin Sardar. 2004. Introducing Cultural Studies. Cambridge: Icon Books Ltd.
For further information
Contact Olivier Serrat, Head of the Knowledge Management Center, Regional and Sustainable Development Department,
Asian Development Bank (oserrat@adb.org).
Culture Theory
3
Asian Development Bank
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the
Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth,
environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the
region. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of
grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million.
Knowledge Solutions are handy, quick reference guides to tools,
methods, and approaches that propel development forward and
enhance its effects. They are offered as resources to ADB staff. They
may also appeal to the development community and people having
interest in knowledge and learning.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the
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governments they represent. ADB encourages printing or copying
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without the express, written consent of ADB.
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