The need for social sciences becomes more pronounced in times of shifting paradigms in studying economic development, power, and population. This was the gist of Dr. Mark Mason’s lecture during the Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) held at SEARCA last Sept. 8. Mason in an anthropologist and lecturer at the Department of Anthropology, California State University.

Much is needed to be done in order to alleviate the high incidence of poverty in Southeast Asia. (Photo courtesy of flickr.com)

"The question of poverty has nothing to do with science. Cultural systems and values play a more important role in shaping poverty -- people interacting with people -- that is where the action is," Mason said. He also explained that positive social changes usually arise from developing countries where people experience more pressing societal issues including prevalence of poverty and continuous resource depletion.

Mason discussed the concept of deep culture, which states that human behavior is a function of human biology. As he put it, "culture is the collective unconscious." Human culture offers functional structure at the price of conformity. As people become more accustomed to their culture, people tend to forget realities. He said that everyone should be wary of the evident difference between the 'private want' and 'public policy.'

As an anthropologist, Mason said that it is a challenge for social scientists to continue the task of truth-telling in a society bound by cultural norms. Mason further emphasized that contrary to popular belief, it does not take a group of people to initiate social change. Public transformation and realization of cultural reality often originates with the transformation of an individual.