Evolution in Culture

Evolution in Culture

Hungary has been a free country since 1989 (after the end of communism).

But at this moment the country is living its “longest and darkest night“, according to the Hungarian president Mr. Gyurcsany.
Thousands of people were protesting, dozens got wounded.

In this article, we talk about evolution in Culture.

The reason: Mr. Gyurcsany has lied to the Hungarian people. He won the elections on a platform of tax cuts but has since proposed tax increases to deal with a huge budget deficit.

So now there is a protest.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside parliament, carrying a symbolic coffin with a placard that read: “We will bury the government of Gyurcsany.“
Mr. Gyurcsany has said, “to use all means, to restore order”.

How will this “culturally” pan out?

The cultural dimension that would explain this most would be Power Distance (or Hierarchy).

A characteristic of PDI is that change happens either through evolution (low scores on Hierarchy; countries like the Netherlands (34), or Sweden (33)), or change happens through revolution (high scores on Hierarchy, like France (65))

Hungary scores 48 on this Hierarchy dimension. The trouble is that this score is an “estimated” score. This means that it is based on so-called correlated phenomena, has a research base, or is assessed during seminars or assignments.

So the current events in Hungary are yet another measure to see if the current score of 48 on Hierarchy holds up.

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