Ethnocentrism and the Problem of Comparing Cultures

Globalization, by increasing the frequency and intensity of intercultural contact, produces both positive and negative effects. It creates economic opportunities and the potential for learning about other cultures. The same economic opportunities, however, also present challenges to “business as usual” from increased competition. Further, globalization intensifies conflicts over fundamental beliefs & values held by contesting cultures that have existed for centuries in relative isolation.

Some respond to globalization by seeking to expand their understanding of different cultures. Others react out of fear that their cultural heritage is at risk and important values and beliefs will be lost in a brave new world of global culture. While every cultural perspective has some intrinsic worth as a way of living, it is unfortunately too common for people to react to globalization by becoming so absorbed in nostalgia about their own culture that it ceases to grow and evolve.

One of the most tragic examples of this was the former Yugoslavia, where just as globalization was rendering borders and cultural differences less and less important, people were overwhelmed by a desire to align themselves according to ethnicity and religion, and to revive century old conflicts in a bloodbath from which there were no winners. Politicians and terrorists in every culture play on the themes of ethnic and cultural identity over and over as a very effective tool for gaining internal support.

At the core of this dilemma is the “dark side” of culture itself. In spite of the wonderful things that a culture does for its members, every culture seems to include a set of blinders that lead members to ignore the need to look critically and thoughtfully at deficiencies in their own culture. Ethnocentrism, an element in all cultures, consists of the assumption that my culture is not simply “better” than other cultures, but that it is more “natural”, more “true”. In reality, making culture is a natural process, but the culture we make is not necessarily more natural than any other. How could any culture be more “natural” than any other? On what basis could this claim be made? Aren’t all cultures human creations, and therefore imperfect?

This dilemma is sometimes resolved, superficially, in the form of cultural relativism that simply recognizes the right of any culture to “do its own thing.” But is this really a tenable position? Is our only choice one between total tolerance for any and all cultural practices or constant cultural warfare? The world of our future is one where the differences between cultural systems cannot be ignored, glossed over, or resolved simply by force of arms. We need to begin to understand how to undertake a thoughtful, cooperative process of cultural analysis and comparison over points of conflict. It must be acceptable to raise issues, but we will not make progress if we expect to impose our will unilaterally. All cultural systems, through their inward looking design, fail to prepare us for precisely the biggest challenge facing humanity in a "flatter" world. We must develop a culture for intercultural dialogue.