Page 198 - Cultures and Organizations

174 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

expeditionary force that chased the occupants, at the cost of (offi cially) 725

Argentinean and 225 British lives and enormous financial expense. The
economy of the islands, dependent on trade relations with Argentina, was
severely jeopardized.
What explains the difference in approach and in results between these
two remarkably similar international disputes? Finland and Sweden are
both feminine cultures; Argentina and Great Britain are both masculine.
The masculine symbolism in the Falkland crisis was evident in the lan-

guage used on either side. Unfortunately, the sacrifices resolved very little.
The Falklands remain a disputed territory needing constant British sub-
sidies and military presence; the Ålands have become a prosperous part of
Finland, attracting many Swedish tourists.
In 1972 an international team of scientists nicknamed the Club of
Rome published a report titled Limits to Growth, which was the fi rst pub-
lic recognition that continued economic growth and conservation of our

living environment are fundamentally conflicting objectives. Their report
has been attacked on details, and for a time the issues it raised seemed less
urgent. Its basic thesis, however, has never been refuted, and at least in our
view, it is irrefutable. Nothing can grow forever, and ignoring this basic
fact is the principal weakness of present-day economics. Govern ments have
to make painful choices, and apart from local geographic and ecological
constraints, these choices will be made according to the values dominant
in a country. Governments in masculine cultures are more likely to give

priority to growth and sacrifice the living environment for this purpose.
Governments in feminine cultures are more likely to reverse priorities. 70
As environmental problems cross borders and oceans, international diplo-
macy is needed for solutions. A worldwide approach was laid down in the
Kyoto Protocol, the result of a United Nations convention in 1997. Then
U.S. president George W. Bush, following his election in 2001, showed

his masculine priorities by withdrawing from it. Former U.S. vice presi-
dent Al Gore in 2006 put the environment back on the U.S. public agenda
with his fi lm An Inconvenient Truth, and U.S. president Barack Obama in
2008 committed himself to a new leading role for the United States in this
field—which, however, will be an uphill struggle within U.S. politics.

The 1990–93 World Values Survey asked representative samples of the
populations to place their political views on a scale from “left” to “right.”