Social and Cultural Components of Society and Appraisal of Social Reality

and Appraisal of Social Reality Ramkrishna Mukherjee Culture, economy, and polity are three essential dimensions taken into account for the appraisal of social reality. While the interaction of the three dimensions was of concern to the pioneers in social science, specialisation began to lay unilateral emphasis on polity and/or economy from the late nineteenth century. But, as the emphasis failed to reveal reality precisely and comprehensively, attention on culture was revived in the second half of the present century. From the 1980s it has assumed an acute form. Among others, the Subaltern School of history-making and post-modernism as a principle of scientific analysis are illustrative of the new venture. In this context, it may be useful to examine the roles attributed to culture as a variable for the appraisal of social reality, and search for its apposite role with reference to growth and development of society. The objective of this paper is to initiate a discussion in this respect.