ABSTRACT
In reflecting on the low profile of mainstream museums in issues of natural and cultural stewardship, it won’t do to attribute this passivity to the much-vaunted view that museums must remain protective of their authority and respect by remaining aloof from activities that entail competing views and values. As discussed earlier, this in itself is a commitment to the status quo and its deprivations, including the presumption of unlimited economic growth and the tacit support of the governments and corporations who are committed to this ideology. Nor is it sufficient to use the inertia of museum tradition as a rationalization, for such practices are not immutable, as the examples of progressive practice in the previous chapter testify. There are simply too many museums submerged in a miasma of sacred cows, unquestioned assumptions, groupthink and habitual behaviours.
