# Is American/Western culture "better" than other world cultures? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 1, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966 "2009-11-01T18:51:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/21 "2009-11-02T05:50:36Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > China has 55 ethnic minorities within it’s borders. There are dozens of languages spoken and several “alphabets” in use. Just because they all look alike to you doesn’t mean they are not diverse. The differences among European countries does not begin to compare to that within China. That is going a bit far. Even with the vast minority states of Tibet and Xinjiang, China is 92% Han Chinese. And among the Han, China’s written language and history of imperial exams (which involved a lot of memorization of key texts) means that Han culture has had remarkable uniformity for a very early time. And anyone who has bemoaned the “WalMart-ization” of American would cry over the white tile and karaoke uniformity that threatens to overwhelm even the most exotic of China’s cities. Even today (or perhaps especially today) minority culture is seen as little more than the chance for some song’n’dance and maybe some tourist dollars. There is little genuine effort to preserve languages, traditional learnings, local religions, etc. Indeed, more often than not there are active attempts to dismantle and destroy these things. At best, minority culture is considered a bit of “local color.” At worst, minorities are seen as savage and dangerous (students today are still taught how the different minorities “rank” in “development”- guess who is on top?) So while it’s true that that there is _some_ diversity in China, a scant 8% of highly marginalized people, many of whom live in extreme poverty in far-flung provinces, hardly compares to what we are used to when we think about diversity, ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/22 "2009-11-02T09:45:40Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > Yeah, look at the Arabs. We have to use their crummy numbering system rather than that convenient Roman system we came up with in Europe. Funny side-note, I’ve had some Indian friends jump down my throat for calling them “[Arabic numerals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_numerals).” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/23 "2009-11-02T11:01:56Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > Yes Western culture is superior to cultures that practice stoning, arranged marriages, female circumcisions, human sacrifice, and so on and it wins due to it’s moral superiority. You forgot to add ‘homophobia’ to your list of evils.Heh ---
**Author:** ![yendis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ed8c4c/32.png) [@yendis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yendis)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/24 "2009-11-02T11:10:29Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Some other cultures have the same or perhaps even more ancient history, but no other culture (including China, India or Japan) can match the sheer amount of cultural material (books, art, &etc.) But that cultural material is not the product of a single culture, it is a product of many cultures often hellbent on destroying eachother that happened to share the same geography. England, Spain, France and The Holy Roman Empire in 1500AD were not of the same culture and expended a fair amount of effort to ensure that things stayed that way. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/25 "2009-11-02T11:20:29Z")
First off, by selecting ‘American slash Western’ as a single reference culture, you’re squeezing an awful lot of cultures into a single box and I’m not sure they’re all going to fit in that same box. One basic problem shows up very quickly if I ask you how many cultures are there in the world? It’s a thorny issue. On the one hand, I suppose we can, very vaguely, talk about Western culture, Asian culture, African culture, perhaps? But that kind of delineation leaves me extremely unsatisfied because it’s clumsy and just doesn’t work if you care at all about the details. Where does Iran fit? What about Peru? Madagascar? Cuba? On the other hand we could say that every single country has its own culture, or on an even more extreme analysis, say that every county has its own mix of cultures. If someone from Japan considered moving to the USA and asked me what they might be able to expect there, my first thought would be to ask what part of the USA they were considering moving to. I’d even ask what city, because I think that matters. What I’m saying is, let’s define culture first. What do you mean by ‘culture’? A second point is that the media in every one of our own countries/cultures tend to artificially highlight the failings of other countries/cultures and to downplay or ignore their own failings. That is human nature. We should all be mindful of that tendency. ---
**Author:** ![Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/26 "2009-11-02T14:05:30Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > I have few bones to pick… > > 1. I don’t see how you can realistically say that a shockingly diverse place like say… India lacks “the raw [cultural] diversity of the West (which was spawned by the fractured nature of Europe).” > > Man, any conceivable example of culture whether: religious, linguistical, ethnic, political, historical, urban/rural, etc… India is FAR more diverse. Europe’s nothing like that. > > 2… I haven’t spent much time in India, but what struck me most about it was the paucity of it’s culture compared to Europe. I suspect that much of its culture is private or literary, and so less accessible to visitors, but then, so is Europe’s. Clearly, this is subjective and others might disagree, but you seemed to be clutching at staws with your list of fine Indian cultural achievements - you missed out culinary, artistic, architectural, dramatic, musical… ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/27 "2009-11-02T14:25:45Z")
> [@Sandwich](#): > > I haven’t spent much time in India, but what struck me most about it was the paucity of it’s culture compared to Europe. I suspect that much of its culture is private or literary, and so less accessible to visitors, but then, so is Europe’s. Clearly, this is subjective and others might disagree, but you seemed to be clutching at staws with your list of fine Indian cultural achievements - you missed out culinary, artistic, architectural, dramatic, musical… My point was to list ways in which India was culturally diverse not to list cultural achievements. I don’t have the knowledge nor the time to make such a list; however if I did I would probably start with (in addition to my above “Arabic numeral” example) something grand like the creation of four major religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism) and end with something simple like the game of chess or the word “jungle” ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/28 "2009-11-02T14:42:05Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I don’t make that distinction. Any culture that is able to create the conditions for a nation to become economic prosperous and feed its own population is superior to another culture that is unable to create those conditions.) Economic prosperity is not owed only to culture. Have you not considered that simple geography and natural resources are a strong factor? American culture didn’t create the vast amount of space available on the continent, or the rich, abundant natural resources. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/29 "2009-11-02T15:52:23Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > That is going a bit far. Even with the vast minority states of Tibet and Xinjiang, China is 92% Han Chinese. And among the Han, China’s written language and history of imperial exams (which involved a lot of memorization of key texts) means that Han culture has had remarkable uniformity for a very early time. And anyone who has bemoaned the “WalMart-ization” of American would cry over the white tile and karaoke uniformity that threatens to overwhelm even the most exotic of China’s cities. > > Even today (or perhaps especially today) minority culture is seen as little more than the chance for some song’n’dance and maybe some tourist dollars. There is little genuine effort to preserve languages, traditional learnings, local religions, etc. Indeed, more often than not there are active attempts to dismantle and destroy these things. At best, minority culture is considered a bit of “local color.” At worst, minorities are seen as savage and dangerous (students today are still taught how the different minorities “rank” in “development”- guess who is on top?) > > So while it’s true that that there is _some_ diversity in China, a scant 8% of highly marginalized people, many of whom live in extreme poverty in far-flung provinces, hardly compares to what we are used to when we think about diversity, The Han are not homogeneous. It’s like saying Europe is homogeneous because it is primarily white people. Only 65% of Chinese use Mandarin as their primary language. There are more people in China who speak Wu than there are in any European country except Russia. Cantonese is spoken by more people than the population of any European country except Russia and Germany. Many of what we call separate languages in Europe (e.g., the Romance languages) are more closely related than dialects in China. The geography of China is more diversified than Europe. It contains the highest point on earth and the second lowest. It consists of desert, lush tropics, temperate areas, steppes, and more. And yes, the Chinese govt has not treated it’s ethnic minorities well, and there is more and more homogenization, but that has occurred primarily since the 1940s. The EU is also homogenizing Europe. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/30 "2009-11-02T15:59:04Z")
> [@Sandwich](#): > > I haven’t spent much time in India, but what struck me most about it was the paucity of it’s culture compared to Europe. I suspect that much of its culture is private or literary, and so less accessible to visitors, but then, so is Europe’s. Clearly, this is subjective and others might disagree, but you seemed to be clutching at staws with your list of fine Indian cultural achievements - you missed out culinary, artistic, architectural, dramatic, musical… You are misusing paucity. Quantitatively, there is far more culture in India: food, language, dress, and religion,. It’s subjective as to how “good” their culture is, but in 25 years your kids will be answering phones saying “This is Ramesh, how can I help you?”. ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/31 "2009-11-02T16:01:07Z")
dup ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/32 "2009-11-03T03:00:41Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > You forgot to add ‘homophobia’ to your list of evils.Heh What do you mean by homophobia? People who want to genocide homosexuals or people who think homosexuality is a sin? ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/33 "2009-11-07T12:56:08Z")
In answer to the OP, if “best” means having most thoroughly glamorized the idea that possessions=self and most successfully enshrined superficiality as substance, yes. How you gonna keep 'em down on the farm, … ? > [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > What do you mean by homophobia? People who want to genocide homosexuals or people who think homosexuality is a sin? Thanks for getting me into this **Curtis**. Homophobia runs a spectrum from the merely straight (loosely speaking) all the way thru those who “know” the world would be better off (less sinful) without “queers” but will leave their punishment to God to those who agree and would just like to take matters into their own hands. I have a question for you. Is it sinful to not believe that the Bible is the literal and inerrant Word(s) of God? (cite, please). ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/34 "2009-11-07T16:28:59Z")
> [@adhay](#): > > Thanks for getting me into this **Curtis**. > > Homophobia runs a spectrum from the merely straight (loosely speaking) all the way thru those who “know” the world would be better off (less sinful) without “queers” but will leave their punishment to God to those who agree and would just like to take matters into their own hands. > > I have a question for you. Is it sinful to not believe that the Bible is the literal and inerrant Word(s) of God? (cite, please). If you go the thread I started: “Is Homosexuality a Sin?” you’ll see the relevant Bible quotes and since Paul was divinely inspired I would be inclined to say according to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin. It’s not the _exact_ words of God per se but it was divinely inspired. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/35 "2009-11-07T17:29:21Z")
> [@Curtis LeMay](#): > > If you go the thread I started: “Is Homosexuality a Sin?” you’ll see the relevant Bible quotes and since Paul was divinely inspired I would be inclined to say according to the Bible, homosexuality is a sin. It’s not the _exact_ words of God per se but it was divinely inspired. Let me rephrase my question. Is it a sin to believe that there are errors in the Bible? ---
**Author:** ![TurboNuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@TurboNuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TurboNuke)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/36 "2009-11-07T19:02:25Z")
One of the reasons I don’t like Democrats/liberals is multiculturalism. I don’t believe in multiculturalism. There are some cultures that are better than others. We should be trying to encourage “good” cultural values and preventing “bad” ones. American culture is not the best but one of the better ones and we should be working to improve it by integrating the “good” parts of other cultures. We should be tolerant of other cultures. I am not talking about destroying “bad” cultures. We just shouldn’t be encouraging “bad” behaviors. Mexicans seem to be a hard working people. Then why does Mexico suck? I’d say it has something to do with the culture of Mexico. We can’t let them import that crappy culture into the US. Therefore I believe in limiting immigration from Mexico to what we can integrate. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/37 "2009-11-07T19:49:48Z")
> [@TurboNuke](#): > > Mexicans seem to be a hard working people. Then why does Mexico suck? I’d say it has something to do with the culture of Mexico. We can’t let them import that crappy culture into the US. Therefore I believe in limiting immigration from Mexico to what we can integrate. Completely agree. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/38 "2009-11-07T20:22:37Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Economic prosperity is not owed only to culture. American culture didn’t create the vast amount of space available on the continent, or the rich, abundant natural resources. no, American culture didn’t _create_ the abundant resources, but it certainly _chose to use_those resources to create economic prosperity. Compare, say, Zimbabwe --which also has pretty good natural resouces. The simple fact is that some cultures are good— and some aren’t. And it is very sad that so many educated people are embarrassed to state that fact out loud. ---
**Author:** ![adhay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecd19e/32.png) [@adhay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/39 "2009-11-07T20:59:33Z")
> [@TurboNuke](#): > > … > Mexicans seem to be a hard working people. Then why does Mexico suck? I’d say it has something to do with the culture of Mexico. We can’t let them import that crappy culture into the US. Therefore I believe in limiting immigration from Mexico to what we can integrate. True, I haven’t been there since 2003 or lived there since 1996, but I did enjoy my stays and I liked it. Even in 2003, I stopped into a dentist (because I liked his sign) and without any paperwork and for $85 US, he extracted a tooth, rebuilt a rear molar which is still serving serving well and cleaned my teeth. Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close to the US. > [@chappachula](#): > > no, American culture didn’t _create_ the abundant resources, but it certainly _chose to use_those resources to create economic prosperity. :rolleyes: With the marines employed around the world as corporate shock troops since 1898, much of our “abundance” has been outright stolen. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966/40 "2009-11-07T22:05:32Z")
> [@TurboNuke](#): > > One of the reasons I don’t like Democrats/liberals is multiculturalism. I don’t believe in multiculturalism. There are some cultures that are better than others. We should be trying to encourage “good” cultural values and preventing “bad” ones. American culture is not the best but one of the better ones and we should be working to improve it by integrating the “good” parts of other cultures. > > We should be tolerant of other cultures. I am not talking about destroying “bad” cultures. We just shouldn’t be encouraging “bad” behaviors. > > Mexicans seem to be a hard working people. Then why does Mexico suck? I’d say it has something to do with the culture of Mexico. We can’t let them import that crappy culture into the US. Therefore I believe in limiting immigration from Mexico to what we can integrate. Generally when people say they “don’t believe in multiculturalism” they really mean “I don’t like Black, Brown, Asian or non hetero Anglo White people”. > [@chappachula](#): > > no, American culture didn’t create the abundant resources, but it certainly chose to usethose resources to create economic prosperity. > Compare, say, Zimbabwe --which also has pretty good natural resouces. > > The simple fact is that some cultures are good— and some aren’t. > And it is very sad that so many educated people are embarrassed to state that fact out loud. Maybe because they actually want to sound “educated”? There are elements of good and bad in all cultures, including ours. Generally speaking, cultures that promote freedom in any of its forms, hard work, education, innovation and tolerance tend to provide a high standard of living for their people. This actually may come as a shock, but a lot of countries don’t want to import our high culture of fast food restaurants, big box stores, NASCAR, rampant consumerism, obesity, alchoholism, xenophobia, apathy and entitlement. > [@adhay](#): > > With the marines employed around the world as corporate shock troops since 1898, much of our “abundance” has been outright stolen. Well…except that it hasn’t. Well, except maybe from the Indians but I don’t think that’s what you meant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-american-western-culture-better-than-other-world-cultures/515966.md?page=3)