Yet in a communal culture, the ownership of ideas is a totally alien concept. Ideas, insight, the accumulated wisdom of the community, is not something to be owned but is to be shared, to be used in the instruction of the young and the guidance of the community as a whole. Certainly, there can be outstanding individuals who are gifted with wisdom and insight. But their ideas become the common property of the community, not just at one point in time but for succeeding generations. Those ideas become part of the traditions that are passed down though the community across the generations.
