Reflection 12: Cultural Relativity

I was glad to see that the majority of my classmates shared the idea that there is not a unilateral path to development, instead development is completely relative to a state's culture. This was especially apparent when our class discussion turned mainly to Africa. Everyone seemed to remember that Africa is not a country but a continent and furthermore each country is wildly different.

This cultural relativity is expressed in The Conquest of America. When Columbus gave needles to the natives thinking it could be used for the clothes they had also provided, the natives instead used it to pick their teeth and tend to wounds. There were also instances where Columbus traded with the natives receiving something of material gain by Western standards while the natives would receive "meaningless" items or things worth comparatively less but find great worth from them. For example Columbus' men traded gloves for land. Cultural relativity and diversity is also exemplified in the instances where the natives would "offer their homes" to the Christians, meaning they would give the Christians whatever they desired. Yet, when the natives returned this practice, the Christians were angered and considered the natives thieves.

The concept and understanding of cultural relativity is important to identity but vital for the understanding of development. This relativity must be kept in mind so that states or organizations seeking to aid other nations don't look to help other states develop with a one-sided view or with the idea of unilateral development. Global actors must recognize and understand differences in order to ensure peace between states and the achievement of goals (in this case aiding in development).

Fairness of Economic Success or Failure

I find this economic success/failure to be unfair, especially for developing nations, because there is the misconception of unilateral development. There seems to be a preconceived notion that every state develops along a single path (in the mind of a Western power). The first step is preindustrialziation, that is the state is organized in a way of the past such as a tribe. Then there is a stage of industrialization or development where the state sees technological and societal developments, riding of the "old", and a creation of a stable government. The final state postindustrialization. All of this is done under the current Western definition of development; the state becomes a capitalist democracy. Any form of development that does not fit the Western mold is deemed "backward", "third world", or the "global south".

These "third world" states are on an entirely different playing field and should not be subject to the same expectations as other states. States that have developed in the wake of the colonial era such as Rwanda or South Africa have had to deal with state development, and arguably continue to do so. This puts states at a disadvantage for economic success because they are dealign with stability issues on a grand scale, and are therefore unable to focus on economic prosperity as more "developed" states. Furthermore it is these "developed" states that have put these developing states at a disadvantages. States like Great Britain, arguably the greatest colonial power, instilled western principles into its colonies leaving developmental issues in it's wake. The African states are still trying to battle their African identity and custom while working to develop. Furthermore, to have the same expectations for economic success would mean that all cultures and states are organized homogeneously. This notion lacks respect for the diversity of cultural norms and values amongst different states. For instance, in precolonial Africa many tribes were centralized and worked in a communal form of organization. This value of centralization and community is still, arguably, inherently part of the "African" identity. Western nations, although there is a communal aspect to society, respects the individuals and means of wealth such as private land ownership. Therefore the division of labor and various other capitalist ideals havent fully permeated every state. This means that states are competing on different "scale" on different "fields".