Vivendi

Pascal Ory, Culture and Media Historian, Professor at the Sorbonne, Sciences-Po Paris, and EHESS (École des hautes études en sciences sociales) (ASDR 2009)

Promoting cultural diversity is a clever choice

« We all know that cultural globalization has never been as advanced as it is today. But deep down, the phenomenon is as old as humanity. The same is true for hegemony: there have always been dominant cultures. But we tend to forget that domination also means circulation, exchange, and crossbreeding – even leaving identity-bound reactions aside. As astounding as it may seem, diversity is the result of globalization. Promoting that cultural diversity, quite simply, is a clever choice.
In addition, even if modern societies function on the basis of individualistic constructs, which cultural technology encourages, they have not eradicated the need for community. Individual + community = tribe. Languages disappear every year, but forms of cultural communities are created every day. In the 21st century, we are all of mixed race. Music, which has never been so present in our societies, is a good example. The niche effects of musical genres generated by tribes contribute to diversifi cation and crossbreeding. Thus lucidity dictates offering diversity in an individualistic society.
Finally, it is evident that innovation, which is at the core of Vivendi’s businesses, generates diversity, because true innovation always surprises. But what is innovative acclimates and crossbreeds very quickly. Globalized culture companies have a role to play as a driving force on this shifting terrain. Illustrating, defending and developing cultural diversity, then, is not a question of virtue, but of rational calculation. »