Parking in New York

You don’t change a country’s culture from the outside” – Lawrence Harrison

“Why do diplomats at the UN from countries like Quawait, Egypt, Tchad, Sudan, Mocambique, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Syria collect hundreds of parking tickets in New York every year? And why do Swedish, Danish, Japanese, Israeli, Norwegian, or Canadian diplomats never have parking tickets?” David Brooks wrote this in The New York Times, some time back.
He linked this behavior to corruption and the country’s position on “Transparency International“. Is it culture?

Lawrence Harrison worked for many years as a development aid worker. He researched the degree of influence culture has on human behavior. He worked as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Fletcher School of Tufts University.

We operate in the same research area, therefore we were interested in his new book The Central Liberal Truth. In this book, he concludes that cultural differences are the main denominators causing certain countries to develop themselves faster than others.
We agree with his statements, and have additional remarks on his research:

Nowadays the following has crucial political importance: can we deliberately change cultures in order that enable development and modernization? Indirectly he points to the war on terrorism and changing the culture in the Middle East and that of the millions of Muslim immigrants in Europe.
After working together with other scientists in his research in many countries he concluded: that it is not possible to change a culture from the outside, except in certain exceptional circumstances. It can only be done through the work of people from within the culture.

It struck Harrison that before such transformations can start, they have lasted centuries more than decades, and huge investments are made in education, especially in the reading and writing of women.

Are there any particular country culture configurations that can predict a strong economic development? Most poor countries, where 70 to 80% of the population lives below the poverty line, have centralized power structures and are collectivistic societies. In such societies, economic and educational aid from outside will mostly be beneficial to the few (families) that hold the central power.
The richest countries, including the ones that score high on GDP (per capita), are individualistic societies and a vast majority have no centralized power.
So, we can state that:
– Societies can become more individualistic when economic development, by educational development according to Harrison, are positive and accessible to everyone.
– And when societies are more individualistic and have equal rights, economic development will accelerate.

But how do you create individualistic and equal rights societies? According to Harrison that can only be done from inside the own culture, by people who acknowledge (and emotionally understand) the problems, and can take charge of transformation through reinterpretations of the country’s symbols, role models, rituals, traditions, shared norms, and values.
It will take a long time (e.g. centuries) to change. Is there anything that can be done from outside the culture that will accelerate the transformation to an individualistic and equal rights society? Maybe large numbers of immigrants blend with the actual society? Maybe coupes d’etats through people with the right cultural profile? Direct development aid (economic and educational) to the poorest under the direct control of the aid without imposing the ways of working of the aid suppliers.

Culture Matters

We don’t know yet. We are curious what you think!

Get a Taste of How Chris Presents, Watch his TEDx Talk


 

 

8 + 5 =

call culture mattersCall Direct: +32476524957

 

whatsapp culture matters directlyEuropean Office (Paris) Whatsapp: +32476524957

 

The Americas (USA; Atlanta, GA; también en Español):  +1 678 301 8369

Book Chris Smit as a Speaker

If you're looking for an Engaging, Exciting, and Interactive speaker on the subject of Intercultural Management & Awareness you came to the right place.

Chris has spoken at hundreds of events and to thousands of people on the subject of Cultural Diversity & Cultural Competence.

This is What Others Say About Chris:

  • “Very Interactive and Engaging”
  • “In little time he knew how to get the audience inspired and connected to his story”
  • His ability to make large groups of participants quickly and adequately aware of the huge impact of cultural differences is excellent”
  • Chris is a dedicated and inspirational professional”

In addition, his presentations can cover specific topics cultural topics, or generally on Cultural differences.

Presentations can vary anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours and are given worldwide.

Book Chris now by simply sending an email. Click here to do so.

Read more about what Chris can do for you.

  • Percentage of People Rating a Presentation as Excellent 86% 86%
  • Rating the Presentation as Practical 89% 89%
  • Applicability of Chris' presentation 90% 90%

About Peter van der Lende

Peter van der Lende International business development

Peter has joined forces with Culture Matters.

Because he has years and years of international business development experience joining forces therefore only seemed logical.

Being born and raised in the Netherlands, he has lived in more than 9 countries of which most were in Latin America.

He currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) with his family.

You can find out more at https://expand360.com/

Or find out what Peter can do for you here.

Chris Smit
We're looking for new Podcast Guests!

We're looking for new Podcast Guests!

If you think you or someone you know would make a good guest for our Culture Matters on International Business, drop us an email.

(make sure you or the person you know will be able to talk about International affairs!)

Thanks, we'll be back to you soon!