Cultural Difference

• Published in: Society (New Brunswick) Vol. 55; no. 6; pp. 482 - 487
• Main Author: Mead, Lawrence M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-12-2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Analysis; Cultural differences; Culture; Evaluation; Feature Article; Immigrants; Individualism; Local culture; Methods; Minorities; Minority groups; Multiculturalism; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Noncitizens; Objectives; Political philosophy; Political Science; Poverty; Social aspects; Social integration; Social Sciences; Sociology; Theology; United States; Immigration; Culture; Poverty
• ISSN: 0147-2011; 1936-4725
• DOI: 10.1007/s12115-018-0296-0

President Trump’s criticisms of minorities, immigrants, and poor countries, while controversial, point to the need to discuss cultural differences more candidly. Much of the upset over diversity in America and the world results from the fact that everyone is not the same. The United States is the world’s most individualist country, where most people approach life as a quest to achieve their personal goals. But most minority Americans and recent immigrants tend to adjust to the world as it is rather than seeking change. That is a major reason why integration of these groups has proven difficult. Poor countries abroad are often ill-governed because local culture accepts misrule more passively than in the West. The entire American tradition, including political theory and theology, takes an individualist culture as normal and thus fails to address our current challenges. We need a new tradition in which cultural difference is the subject rather than denied.