Cultural Harmony-Cultural Relativism

Not a day goes by where one doesn't hear an elderly relative begin speaking with the phrase, "Back in my day..." or "When I was a kid..." Although we are apart of the same culture, the generation gap shows the inconsistencies within their culture. One hundred years ago, most Americans did not have instant communication nor could a majority of them vote. Today, we possess devices that allow us to hold the world news in the palm of our hand and encourage everyone to vote. Yet, there is an even more striking cultural gap between different geographic locations as exemplified in Things Fall Apart by Albert Achebe. The novel depicts the age-old stereotypical conflict between a foreign country and the traditional culture and its people. In an article written by James Rachels called "The Challenges of Cultural Relativism", he goes and explains in great detail how two different cultures, despite various and often contradicting values, are able to coexist. There are, I believe, positive and negative

elements presented from Cultural Relativism, as stated by Rachels.

One obvious of Relativism is we would be a more tolerant and subsequently peaceful species. Without the concept of superior versus inferior cultures, there would be less prejudicial action and conflicts which would theoretically lead to a much more peaceful world. A majority of the world's armed conflicts today are ignited by religious extremists and radical views against Christianity and the West combined with Western intervention due to the timeless label of "inferior" Middle Eastern nations. With the acceptation of other cultures, there would be little to no conflicts regarding race, religion, ethnicity, customs, etc. as we see today. If Cultural Relativism occurred, our customs could act as a simple pre-requisite checklist for our actions. Rachels gave the example of the South African man and the cynical apartheid system. If one were to compare the system to their own moral culture, they would see that is entirely out of line with it. 

While Cultural Relativism seems like an enlightened and modern way of thinking, there are some underlying negatives. If we live in a world where humans possess a "you-do-your-thing-and-I'll-do-mine" attitude, it could allow violence and inhumane actions to occur (according to other cultures). For example, if a culture, say Nazi Germany or ancient Egypt, has a strong anti-Semite attitude, according to Cultural Relativism, we cannot and should not interfere with that as it would violate their personal customs. Another issue is the hindering of "progress." Cultural Relativism revolves around a "nationalistic" attitude towards your own culture believing that it is perfect. If it were perfect, then there would be no change or progress. Therefore, the abolition of slavery or women's suffrage would have never existed and we would be in an agrarian, white-dominated society with breeches and tricorne hats!

Regardless of your position on cultural relativism, one cannot deny that this is an interesting and truly unique concept. Who knows, maybe one day the Earth will see no more prejudice or inter-culture wars (yeah right).