The cultural imperative: Global trends in the 21st century

Abstract

Will the tidal wave of globalization lead us to a bland and uniform landscape dominated by a unified perspective? Will imperialism triumph in the twenty-first century? Or will culture, which drives human behavior through religion, language, geography and history, maintain its influence on the human consciousness? In The Cultural Imperative, Global Trends in the Twenty-first Century, Richard D Lewis explores these questions and proposes his thesis in this sweeping new book that examines the forces that keep us from taking off our cultural spectacles and explains how traits are to deeply embedded to be homogenized, as predicted by so many others. This is the imperative. Lewis begins with a broad sweep of history and the spread of culture throughout the world, forming and reforming based on climate, religion, language, geography and environmental factors, and historical developments. He then turns his attention to categorizing cultures into three groups: linear-active, multi-active and reactive. Of course, we don't see our or others' cultures in such elegant terms; we all wear cultural spectacles, glasses tinted with our own biases. One of the highlights of the book is Lewis' explorations of cultural black holes - aspects that hold such power that they figuratively suck in and obliterate any and all rational arguments or other value sets. Lewis' Post-9/11 Epilogue adds more than his perspective on the current rise of extremism and terrorism. He outlines the rise of Islam, its days of glory, and the splendor of the Moorish cultural, scientific and architectural achievements. Nor does he let the West off the hook in his discussion, he reminds us of our myopia and insensitivity, a fitting end to a book on intransigency.