Normative functions of culture in the context of social time acceleration

The article is polemical in nature and is aimed at identifying the basic principles of ensuring the effectiveness of the normative functions of culture in the implementation of cultural policy in the context of the acceleration of the flow of social time. The materials are theoretical concepts related to predicting the acceleration of the flow of social time, and examples of a sociocultural reflection of this phenomenon in the sociopolitical discourse of the modern media space. The normative functions of culture are considered in two theoretical and methodological perspectives: structural-functional and system-activity, and are assessed, among other things, in the context of the dialogical theory of constructive tension by Alexander Akhiezer. The first theoretical perspective is aimed at clarifying the conditions under which this or that civilizational doctrine presupposes the cultural policy’s maximum effectiveness. Its heuristic potential is revealed in the study by supplementing the dichotomous structural model of “Future- vs Retro-culture” proposed by the Russian cultural researcher Sergei Sinetsky. The second perspective aims to clarify the social causes of sociocultural reflection caused by the acceleration of social time and the rational theoretical foundations for its study. As a result of the study, several principles were formulated that ensure the effectiveness of the functioning of culture as a normative system in the context of the state cultural policy: (1) innovative Future-cultures or traditionalist Retro-cultures have objective limits of rational development, after crossing which the basic norms of culture cease to function; to ensure the effectiveness of the normative functions of culture, it is necessary not to oppose these binary modes, but rather to mediate them within the framework of cultural policy; (2) the normative functions of culture in the context of social time acceleration must be not only rationally exploited, but also increased, which can be facilitated by the intensification of artistic life with a relevant proactive cultural policy; (3) in modern conditions, it is impossible to rely solely on the exploitation of the normative potential already accumulated by culture, since the intergenerational mechanism of its accumulation by traditional culture will not resolve all the contradictions of the new digital era; therefore, it is necessary to build up experience in the implementation of cultural policy, which will ensure significant investments in a promising future.