Economic Practices is Adaptive or Maladaptive

Culture and Adaptation

Culture is a collection of various collections of wisdom, literature, rituals, practices, and values kept by man as a part of society. Culture is acquired through prior experience and may therefore be adaptive or maladaptive, based on the long-term effects on the environment. As a result, adaptive cultures include behaviors that have a positive effect on the climate, while maladaptive cultures have activities that have a detrimental impact on the environment. As theories attest, adaptive capacities of culture are affected by economic well-being, communication systems, and the dependency on natural resources among other factors. Upon analysis of the Pacific Northwest Native American, it is found out that the feminist struggles during 1950 are adaptive as it led to employment on merit rather than gender, which positively impacts the economic environment. However, the Salmon replenishing strategies in Columbian River that was adopted by the locals was maladaptive. Though the strategy proved effective in replenishing the fish stock, scientists argued that it would adversely affect the genetic composition of the salmons in the long-run.

The Role of Cultural Narratives

As noted by scholars, defining a culture as maladaptive or adaptive requires in-depth evaluation of the culture from all sides. Thus, further study needs to be done on synthesis, discussion, and study of cultural narrative and how they influence adaptive or maladaptive processes. For instance, , cultural narratives could be studied to help in identifying processes and variables necessary to adapt to predict no-analog and novel futures.