Cultures do not exist

Abstract

Too often we forget that culture is not a social fact but a concept. In this article it will be argued that cultures do not exist, in spite of their apparent pervasiveness within the social sciences and in daily life. A question will be raised as to the ideological role of the idea of culture, that is, what effects does it produce in the social construction of reality? To do that, the concept and its uses will be criticized, noting that the very concept and its use in daily life represents practices of classification and segregation. Finally, it is suggested that the concept of culture should be abandoned and that we should look forward to new ways of conceiving human diversity more suitable to a situated ethical thinking.