Cultural Diversity in a Global Society

Abstract

In her Editorial “The global knowledge society” (3 February, p. [503][1]), N. V. Fedoroff argues that “creating a truly global knowledge society” would empower humanity to solve its common problems. However, she neglects to acknowledge that humanity's problems, although shared, are inextricable from local cultural and ecological contexts. Knowledge may be empowering as a solution to these problems, but it often empowers inequitably. With these disparities, a “global knowledge society” could harm certain cultures and cause loss in the world's cultural diversity. For example, the globalization of the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine has escalated demands for medicinal materials to beyond local ecological capacities, putting thousands of wild Chinese herbs at risk of extinction ([ 1 ][2]), and consequently damaging this treasured cultural practice. Preserving the world's cultural diversity at a time of globalization—of both knowledge and economy—is in humanity's own interest of future viability. The world needs not one homogenized global knowledge society, as the Editorial suggests, but a global mosaic of multiple, pluralistic knowledge societies, each rooted in its own unique cultural identity. This latter view reflects the idea of “knowledge societies” espoused by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)—“the plural here,” the organization asserts in a report, “sanctions the need for an accepted diversity” ([ 2 ][3]). 1. [↵][4]1. S. Cao, 2. Q. Feng , Science 335, 1168 (2012). [OpenUrl][5][FREE Full Text][6] 2. [↵][7]UNESCO World Report, “Towards knowledge societies” (UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 2005), p. 5; . [1]: pending:yes [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [5]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DScience%26rft.stitle%253DScience%26rft.aulast%253DCao%26rft.auinit1%253DS.%26rft.volume%253D335%26rft.issue%253D6073%26rft.spage%253D1168%26rft.epage%253D1169%26rft.atitle%253DAsian%2BMedicine%253A%2BExploitation%2Bof%2BPlants%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1126%252Fscience.335.6073.1168-b%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F22403370%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [6]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiRlVMTCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6Mzoic2NpIjtzOjU6InJlc2lkIjtzOjE1OiIzMzUvNjA3My8xMTY4LWIiO3M6NDoiYXRvbSI7czoyNDoiL3NjaS8zMzYvNjA3OC8xNTUuMy5hdG9tIjt9czo4OiJmcmFnbWVudCI7czowOiIiO30= [7]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text