Pitfalls of a Cultural Paradigm

The study analyses the connections between minority being and minority culture in  Hungarian life in Romania. It begins with the hypothesis that the peculiar image of culture that emerged during decades of deprivation of minority rights distorted the real functions of culture and its institutions in society as well as the intellectuals' image of themselves and their image of culture. This image of culture, which has become a cultural paradigm, is linked to the specific interpretation where minority being is considered to be a deficient and distinct category which inflicts moral duties on those living a minority existence. It endows culture with a distinct value-creating role from the point of view of survival. This interpretation of existence has been gradually infiltrated into culture and is being continuously procreated by its self-reproductive mechanisms. Therefore it continues to exist alongside the image of culture, even after the events of December 1989, although it does not reflect the real needs and endeavours of minority individuals and has become an obstacle to the development of the new processes. This contradiction which has evolved can now only be overcome by the development of a vigorous civil society.

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