Early History

"Subculture", according to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, refers to "the behavior and beliefs of a particular group of people in society that are different from those of most people." Generally speaking, a subcultural group is usually distinct from or even opposite to the cultural establishment of a certain society. For example, German sociologist Max Weber gives us a detailed review over the history of Puritanism in the New Continent. He finds Puritanism as a non-mainstream regligious group unexpectedly formed the base of American modern capitalism through applying the "calling" from the God to their daily economic life and greatly facilitated the accumulation of capitals. However,as the US got more liberal and open in the modern time, Puritanism again looked non-mainstream because of its strict as well as ascetic doctrines.