Who Owns Culture?

I can't find anyone online discussing this question in the way I think it should be done.

Lawrence Lessig's earnest lecture of that title is interesting but still assumes a fundamentally legalistic view. It actually asks the question - "Who owns culture according to copyright law?" It also has a narrow view regarding the definition of culture, and concentrates on the current practice of digital manipulation of media artifacts ("mashups" "remixes" etc.). All that is well and fine but it's not the question I'm interested in finding an answer to.

'Culture' to me means something much bigger than just music, movies, news clips, etc. It means the collective memory of the race that makes us human. It includes probably most importantly the mythological/philosophical/religious creations of a society, but also the humour, cuisine, dance, entertainment, etc.

So who actually "owns" this? According to developing copyright law, it is the individual who created the artifact in question, or their authorized corporate entity, for the duration of their life, plus 70 years. That exempts the really deep roots of our culture, whose origins are lost in history extending back , usually  a lot farther than 140 years or so.

But deep roots can be laid down at any time. Perhaps the deep roots of the global culture of the 22nd century are being laid down right now embedded in youtube or on someone's blog.

My hunch is that we all own it to the extent that we make it real and valuable in our lives. It seems that there is some recognition of this  in copyright law, at least in its original form, otherwise, why shouldn't the creator (and his estate/corporation) just continue to own it forever?  What counterclaim for the "general good" does the law attempt to balance against the claim of the creator for recompense and recognition?