Leisure, Labor, and the Complexity of Culture: An Anthropological Perspective

This paper explores and evaluates several theoretical models dealing with the relationship of leisure time availability and cultural complexity from a cross-cultural, anthropological perspective. Culture, cultural complexity, and cultural evolution are discussed in terms of how each may influence, or be influenced by, leisure, when viewed as free or unobligated time. A synthetic model of the relationship between cultural complexity and leisure time availability is presented and several implications of the model are suggested and evaluated. Finally, it is noted that cross-cultural research on leisure and cultural complexity poses a number of methodological and theoretical problems.