KZ:  Dave Marsay, I don’t take such words as group, culture, etc. at face value. I try to let those who use them explain their usage. That way I get something of a collage of the varies uses and connotations of these and other terms. And the changes in uses and connotations over time. Evolution and adaptation apply here just like everywhere else in human cultures. Notions of things like culture, theory, science, etc. aren’t “infected” with culture, they are culture. In our “cold, cruel” world culture is humans’ only security; little as that may be. In that context, “debate” of these notions is endless. I frankly know of no way to stop this debate or fully control it. But it might help if all humans are told that nothing humans believe and do is fixed or everlasting, or universal. Might make humans humbler and more respectful of their limited role in the universe.

Me:  What of the experience of only space, time and your self awareness? No consideration, no thinking, no unconscious attitude or emotion when someone stuck their tongue out at you when you were 5 and you’ve carried around for 30-40 years, no cultural beliefs and biases for or against, just the essential “you” and the graceful flow of the temporal universe…as it is in each moment.

We exist in the gracious interactive, integrative, largely unexperienced flow of existence on this planet where we and it have evolved over the last couple of billion years….and we’re missing it…..and the personal and scientific lessons it has to teach us.

How does this apply to economics? Well if ultimate temporal reality is a graceful flow, our economic and monetary systems that are inextricably embedded in same are yet balky, periodically disintegrative and only serve a smallish and diminishing percentage of our fellow individuals as a result of clinging to the paradigm of Debt Only that keep its (un)workable because its continual build up makes debt un-serviceable…then reflectively why ISN’T intelligently integrating the policies of grace as in monetary gifting….the answer to such problems….and a greater oneness with what simply IS???