What is Tradition?

Tradition refers to the shared customs, knowledge, and practices passed down within a society or group from generation to generation. Derived from the Latin word meaning “to pass on,” tradition involves the transfer of culture through oral teaching, habits, and repeated practices. It shapes learning throughout life and is closely connected to a group’s heritage and established ways of doing things. Tradition can also refer to specific customs, stories, rituals, widely accepted beliefs, or common patterns of thought and behavior. Tradition is often seen as a timeless heritage that was “handed down” through generations.

Graham W. Sumner, in the book Folkways: A Study of the Sociological Importance of Usages, Manners, Customs, Mores, and Morals (1906), presented a sociological study of tradition, customs, morals, and social conventions. Society creates patterns that regulate the right ways to meet these interests. These right ways of satisfying interests are "folkways". Folkways or social „customs“ include all established patterns of behavior, from the way of spending free time to the most important moral rules. Customs work in an unconscious habitual way and are strengthened, over time, by tradition, habits, and religious sanctions. Sumner calls the process of developing and establishing customs a "ritual." Because people believe in the wisdom and usefulness of customs, it allows them to perform a huge number of daily activities without rational thinking about the purpose of each individual action. Sumner believes that if individuals were forced to always make a rational judgment about every action, the psychological burden would be unbearable.

When a particular correct pattern of behavior acquires the authority of fact (truth), in a particular society, then it becomes part of "mores". Mores are coercive and constraining social norms that include philosophical and ethical teachings, beliefs, codes, and standards of the good life. Social norms (mores) formulate rules and boundaries of behavior. Every individual is subject to the "legitimacy" of social conventions from birth. Mores regulate the social, political, and religious behaviors of people. Social conventions usually contain "taboos", forbidden behaviors that have been proven to be harmful by historical experience. Social norms coerce individuals, so a person who does not respect them is expelled from society. In this way, mores perform the function of social selection. Social conventions also change over time in a particular society. Changes in social customs arise from an unconscious collective effort to adapt customs to changing circumstances and the interests of society.

Ferdinand Tönnies, in Community and Society (1887), presented dichotomous division into "community" (Gemeinschaft) and "society" (Gesellschaft- also sometimes translated as „association“) as the two main ideal types of human groups. The community is the first, in the historical sense, and it is created by the „natural will“ (Wesenwille). The community is a place of tradition and common life, and the best examples of the community are household and family, neighborhood, village, rural life, and ethnic communities (which are connected by customs, language, and religion). Society, on the other hand, is characterized by „rational will“ (Kürwille), and the main examples are the city, joint stock companies, scientific institutions, and the like. The community is similar to a living organism, while society is transitory and superficial, and similar to a mechanical aggregate or artifact. A community is formed spontaneously through long-term "organic" development and is determined by emotions, customs, traditions, solidarity, trust, and intimacy. Societies are created by planned, conscious, and rational action, and the relations of rationality, calculation, selfishness, and emotional distance prevail in them. While relations and order in the community are maintained through tradition and solidarity, society is governed by formal regulations and external sanctions.

Max Weber developed a classification of the types of human social action. The basic types of social action are: 1) goal rational, 2) value rational, 3) affective, and 4) traditional. Traditional social action is completely shaped by the consistent following of established social rules, regardless of the final effect of that social action. In a similar vein, Weber argues that there are only three legitimate forms of authority: legal-rational, traditional, and charismatic. Traditional power rests on the sanctity of long-established norms and institutions, while, at the same time, there is a constant distrust of any type of change. The right to exercise power is not strictly separated from the person in power, and there is no clear distinction between private and public property. There are two main forms of traditional power: patrimonial, in which all subjects are completely dependent on the ruler and all those who occupy lower positions remain in them only while enjoying his favor; and feudal, in which the highest classes have their protected status, and they form the administrative apparatus. The feudal nobility swears allegiance to the ruler but is freed from his arbitrariness. Capitalism is also specifically marked by the inherent capitalist spirit, the main feature of which is the opposition to traditional economic social action.

                       Tradition in Premodern societies

In premodern societies, tradition is often viewed as a source of cultural authority based on established customs and past practices. These communities value social connectedness, respect for family and ancestors, collective stability, and group harmony. However, traditions passed down orally are not completely fixed; they can evolve, be debated, and adapt to new circumstances. This flexibility challenges the idea that traditions remain permanent and unchanged over time. Eric Wolf argued that traditional societies are not static and isolated systems. Small traditional societies are part of broader political relations of power and economic relations of exploitation. In addition, the political economy of the wider society influences changes in the economic and cultural aspects of these communities, so it is wrong to view them as static societies. In his 1983 work The Radicalness of Tradition: Community Strength or Venerable Disguise and Borrowed Language, Craig Calhoun introduced the idea of the “radicality of tradition.” He argued that tradition should not simply be seen as a symbol of stability and conformity. Instead, traditions have often inspired popular resistance and social movements, providing communities with the moral values and political motivation needed for collective action rather than merely preserving existing social conditions.

                        Modernization and Tradition

Tradition continues to play an important role in modern societies by shaping social identity, cultural expression, and everyday behavior. People use traditions through speech, rituals, customs, and symbolic practices to create a sense of belonging and personal control. In some countries, tradition is also used politically and socially to support ideological goals or strengthen national identity during periods of rapid change and growing diversity. Traditions can also exclude or “other” groups that do not fit dominant cultural norms.

Robert Redfield researched the influence of modern civilization on the rural communities of the descendants of the Maya in Mexico. He concluded that technological, media, and social changes, in modern times, have not destroyed traditional culture.

Robert Park, in the book City (1925), argues that the city is a place of creation of a new moral order. The city shattered the traditional moral order and led to the creation of a new order based on individual freedom and solidarity, and based on common interests. The city leads to the breakdown of the traditional way of life, close neighborly relations are lost, and people live in anonymity. The anonymity and intensity of city life, and especially the focus on work, earning money, and economic relations, have a devastating effect on the form and function of the church, school, and family institutions. Traditional forms of social control are losing their significance, especially in the communities of newly arrived immigrants. 

Walt W. Rostow developed a theory of modernization based on the concept of the "stages of economic growth" and presented it in the book Stages of Economic Growth: A Non Communist Manifesto (1960). In the „traditional stage“, or the first stage of growth, where poor countries are, economic institutions, technology, and cultural values ​​do not provide fertile ground for economic development. In underdeveloped countries, traditional culture, social institutions, a weak work ethic, and a lack of entrepreneurial spirit impede economic efficiency. In addition, large families with many dependent members make it difficult to save for investments. Fatalistic values, which emphasize that suffering is a normal part of life and promote acceptance of one's own bad destiny, are another major obstacle to economic development. The government in underdeveloped countries makes it even more difficult to abandon traditional values ​​by controlling wages and prices.

In the second stage, which Rostow calls „the preconditions for take-off“, the process of development begins when the elite start initiating innovations in economic activities. Well-educated elite steers the country toward investments in new technology and infrastructure, such as transportation and water supplies. All of this helps build up conditions that would enable countries to take off. In the third or "take-off stage", poor countries begin to reject traditional values ​​and institutions, and people begin to save and invest for future gains. Growth is generated from a small number of economic sectors, such as textiles or manufacturing. These few take-off industries become drivers of growth, while other sectors lag behind and remain dominated by traditional practices.

Ulrich Beck developed his approach to modernization, which he called "Reflexive Modernization," and presented it in the books Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition, and Aesthetics in the Modern Social Order (1994) and "Reflective Modernization Theory: Problems, Hypotheses, and Research Plan" (2003). The transformation of early modernity into reflective modernity is the product of a radical application of key principles of industrial society. Changes are taking place in many fields: the nature of capitalism is changing, new forms of work are emerging (labor flexibility), a new global order, a new nature of the state (declining power of the nation-state and welfare state), a new society, the declining importance of traditional institutions; as well as the transformation of gender roles (alternative sexual and gender identities, the disintegration of the gender division of labor), new forms of family life, new forms of individualization and everyday life. Institutional individualization requires making individual decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions, where traditions and habits were previously dominant. Instead of a single identity, reflective modernization promotes the multiplicity of identities.

Giddens developed his approach to modernity in The Consequences of Modernity (1990), Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), and The Transformation of Intimacy (1992). He believes that at the end of the seventeenth century, there was a sharp discontinuity with the traditional social order. There are three sources of dynamic change associated with the emergence of modern society. In the modern age, there is a temporal and spatial separation of social life because interpersonal interactions cease to be limited only by the physical closeness of individuals, and social relations begin to act at a distance. The two main mechanisms that act remotely are "symbolic tokens" and "expert systems". Symbolic tokens, such as media and money, can be exchanged regardless of who uses them. Expert systems are made up of people who have technical or professional knowledge. Both of these mechanisms require trust to operate effectively and provide ontological certainty. Modernity is also characterized by the development of the "wholesale reflexivity" of individuals and institutions. Modernity also includes the transformation of lifestyles and intimacy into "pure relationships", because trust and closeness come from the actors themselves, and not from the wider environment as was the case in a traditional society.

Jean-François Lyotard, in The Postmodern Condition (1979), states that in pre-modern societies, the narrative was, above all, preserved with the help of those who told stories, where tradition and customs strengthened the sense of social unity. In modern times, science, which has received legitimacy from the state and other institutions, has led to the creation of metanarratives that have replaced storytelling, customs, and traditions. This development represents the realization of the ideals of the Enlightenment, that is, faith in human reason and progress that will enable the emergence of objective and positive science.

                                Invention of Tradition

Eric Hobsbawm, in his book The Invention of Tradition (1983), introduced the concept of "invented traditions". With the creation of new bourgeois societies in Western Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, it was necessary to create a basis for solidarity between workers and capitalists, and for that purpose, bourgeois intellectuals invented and promoted the ideology of common ethnocultural identity and common past. Unlike customs that were changeable, traditions were portrayed as constant and unchanging. These fictional traditions were supposed to create public symbols that would be the basis of national identity and national project. As an empirical example of a fictional tradition, Hobsbawm describes the emergence of kilts in Scotland, which were introduced by the English capitalist, as well as the use of turbans in India, which was also introduced by the English.

In their 1982 work Reinventing Traditional Culture: The Politics of Kastom in Island Melanesia, Roger Keesing and Robert Tonkinson introduced the concept of the “politics of tradition.” Using a cultural constructionist approach, they argued that tradition is not fixed but is a contested field in which different groups compete to define cultural meaning and symbolic forms. Their study examined the rise of nationalism in Melanesia, where the Tok Pisin term kastom—meaning indigenous tradition and opposed to what is “modern” or “foreign”—became central to independence movements. Although Melanesia is highly culturally diverse, tradition was used as a unifying political symbol to support national identity and resistance to colonial rule. However, Christianity had previously led many communities to reject pre-European traditions as backward or shameful, creating tensions when nationalist leaders later promoted kastom as a source of pride and unity. The authors emphasized that symbols such as kastom gain power precisely because their meanings remain flexible and disputed.  Lamont Lindstrom and Geoffrey M. White, in their book Custom Today (1993), argued that constructions of tradition are shaped by colonization, missionization, development, and contemporary political and economic conditions.

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