Images International

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Images International

Archival Collection of Talks on Various Bahá'í Subjects

Culture as a Uniter or Divider? North-South, East-West

1988

Mr. Bernard Wood is an analyst and practitioner in international relationships. He talks about society, economics, and politics in terms of international relations. To the extent these fundamental categories fail to deal with the whole human being they fail to give the basis for effective relationships. In North and South America we are faced with relationships between industrialized and developing countries. We still have significant cultural barriers created by colonialism and eurocentrism. He spoke about how the death of members of Franklin's expeditions were important to learning a culture. Development only takes place in fact when scientific and social revolutions are adapted to indigenous cultures. Cultures are unbelievably strong. Culture can only be destroyed when the people who transmit it are destroyed. The primary lesson is that a one dimensional approach that is purely economic cannot succeed with the development of a culture.