Social Transformation and Culture: A Wilburforcian Scenario

The great Russian social philosopher Pitirim Sorokin argued that when societies reach a sensate stage of historical evolution, it is inevitable that ideational impulses will percolate to the center of culture. This cyclical interpretation of history is driven by forces in the stream of history, a kind of quasi Marxian belief in historical inevitability. While religious zeal often does emerge when sensual pleasures cannot satisfy the soul’s longing for transcendence, the questions that emerge are: what is the catalyst for change and how are ideational beliefs channeled into socially empowering ideas. As I see it the catalyst for social transformation...