Creating Participatory Global Cultures

Abstract

This paper, resting on the belief that people everywhere have the right to determine their own culture instead of having one imposed on them in the name of national or global solidarity, maintains that this right can become real only if people at the local community level gain the competence to control all external impact on their culture and thereby contribute to new global cultures through participation in work and in local government, both of which produce feelings of efficacy that lead to participation in the wider society. It then outlines the principles of external relations of local communities that would enable them to preserve their cultural autonomy and contribute to common culture for a broader society and the world. This would provide a place for self-reliant local communities in their visions of future worlds.