Culture is "a body of learned behaviors and values common to a given society which shapes conciousness from generation to generation". But to fully understand culture we must recognize that it is merely a collection of ideas which a society uses to define itself. These ideas arise from religious practices, languages, upbringing, traditions and a host of other factors. More importantly culture is constantly evolving due to experiences which shape a society. As new ideas are introduced, a society will choose to adopt them into their own culture or deny them outright. Either way it has had a profound effect on that society. To say that a culture has progressed insinuates it has bettered itself. This is a relative term. However, development can be used to describe a changing culture. Whether one argues change has occurred for better or worse is irrelevant. Development implies a culture is building upon itself based on prior and present conditions.
As for the concept of a global culture, arguably it is becoming increasingly evident. To say that one single culture will emerge to replace all others is highly unlikely. Humans will always seek ways to seperate themselves from others based on religious doctrines, ethnicity, race, etc. It has become the goal of most people to maintain a sense of personal identity. For someone to interact with other cultures it is important to understand differences and respect them. Sometimes we can learn alot about ourselves by adopting the principles others live by.
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