Robert Kaplan, the contributing editor at Atlantic Monthly , reminded us of Tocqueville s conclusion that democracy only thrives where natural resources and individualistic economic practices create a stable middle class. As we see in the relative progress and prosperity in China and Singapore, as well as the devastation in Russia, pushing Western ways does not necessarily promote thriving nations. Harvard s Dani Rodrik underscored the point with respect to international trade policy. It will do no good to demand that a nation comply with free trade provisions unless its political and financial institutions have the will and skill to regulate against corrupt and exploitative local business practices. Thus if Tocqueville is right, we must encourage a variety of cultural practices that, in the long run, create the conditions for stable democracy rather than the other way around.
Cultural differences are wildly exaggerated.
Further, each civilization carries within itself many diverse traditions, religions and political philosophies. Professor Huntington sees America s increasing diversity as a threat to its stability. His critics see that same diversity as evidence that different cultures can and do successfully coexist. Philosophical common ground. Stanford s Richard Rorty, one of the 20th century s leading pragmatic philosophers, argued that we must avoid ideological and doctrinal solutions to problems.