Page 96 - Cultures and Organizations

78 DIMENSIONS OF NATIONAL CULTURES

poor people. Moreover, taxation protects the wealthy, so that incomes after
taxes can be even more unequal than before taxes. Labor unions tend to be
government controlled; where they are not, they are ideologically based
and involved in politics.

Authority in small-power-distance societies was qualified by Inglehart
as secular-rational: being based on practical considerations rather than on
tradition. In these societies the feeling dominates that politics and religion
should be separated. The use of power should be subject to laws and to the
judgment between good and evil. Inequality is considered basically unde-
sirable; although unavoidable, it should be minimized by political means.
The law should guarantee that everybody, regardless of status, has equal
rights. Power, wealth, and status need not go together—it is even con-
sidered a good thing if they do not. Status symbols for powerful people
are suspect, and leaders may enhance their informal status by renouncing
formal symbols (for example, taking the streetcar to work). Most countries
in this category are relatively wealthy, with a large middle class. The main
sources of power are one’s formal position, one’s assumed expertise, and
one’s ability to give rewards. Scandals usually mean the end of a political
career. Revolutions are unpopular; the system is changed in evolutionary
ways, without necessarily deposing those in power. Newspapers are read

a lot, although confidence in them is not high. Political issues are often
discussed, and violence in domestic politics is rare. Countries with small-
power-distance value systems usually have pluralist governments that can
shift peacefully from one party or coalition to another on the basis of elec-
tion results. The political spectrum in such countries shows a powerful
center and weaker right and left wings. Incomes are less unequally distrib-
uted than in large-power-distance countries. Taxation serves to redistrib-
ute income, making incomes after taxes less unequal than before. Labor

unions are independent and less oriented to ideology and politics than to
pragmatic issues on behalf of their members.
The reader will easily recognize elements of both extremes in the his-
tory and the current practices of many countries. The European Union is
based on the principles of pluralist democracy, but many member states cope
with a dictatorial past. The level of power distance in their cultures helps to
explain their current struggles with democracy. The Eurobarometer sur-
veys mentioned earlier reveal, for example, that where PDI is higher, fewer