ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to interpret at length the meaning of both wheels, discussing how the increase in some culture concerns always precedes an increase in others. It discusses the fit, interdependent structure and meaning, and explanation of the various curves for long- and short-term changes. The diagonal polarities have been discussed; the row and column contrasts will further characterize the structure of short-term culture change. Two wheels of time summarize the internal structure of both types of cycles. Sequentially, the varying concerns of the long wheel of time are explained in terms of four fundamental functional problems of any society as articulated by its culture. The sequential articulations of the short wheel of time-Parochial, Pro-gressive, Cosmopolitan, and Conservative-are most likely produced by dynamics that differ from the long-term functional mechanisms, and the K-cycle periodic contraction and expansion of the national and international economy seems, for the moment, the most plausible explanation.
