Cultural DNA: The Psychology of Globalization

Conclusions

Having completed our psychological tour of the world, it is helpful to reflect upon some broad themes.

First, I hope the material covered has helped readers develop deep and genuine empathy for the cultures covered. Each culture's instincts are finely attuned to the environmental challenges people face in various parts of the world. These challenges were not greater or less in particular regions; they were just different. These challenges were not trivial either, and our ancestors showed great ingenuity and resilience in moving into and developing ways of surviving in different contexts. Acknowledging this reality is necessary to genuinely respect each of the world's cultures.

The above point notwithstanding, it is also undoubtedly true that the ecology of our new global world creates a novel context that each culture is now required to engage. Businesses and societies throughout the world would do well to reflect upon elements of their cultural DNA that can serve them well in this new ecology, as well as those dimensions they need to question or adapt. Indeed, every culture has elements that will be increasingly relevant, but also some that will act as handbrakes in the new context. An honest appreciation of both sides of the coin is necessary for businesses as they engage the new multipolar world.

Another point centers on the importance of looking at one's own culture from the outside in rather than inside out. The ways of thinking and behaving in any particular culture ...