CULTURAL THEORY and RISK:

A REVIEW

N A R C I E -VA N I
P R O F E SS O R : J A M E S C H O
S U B J E C T: C R O S S - C U LT U R E M A N A G E M E N T
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Linking Risk, Danger and Pollution

Re-unitting Primitives and Moderns
The Grid-Group Typology
Criticism of Cultural Theory
Cultural Theory, Deliberative Processes and Trust in
Institutions
INTRODUCTION
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Cultural theory (CT) is a way of interpreting how and

why indidviduals form judgement about danger,
pollution and threat.
Essentially, CT suggests that the view of any
particular individual on matter are shaped by:
The nature of social groups of which they are a part ( varous
organizations, ppeer group influences or other sources of
autority)
The degree to which individuals feel bonded to larger group.
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=> Attitudes and Judgements about risks, abt the

pattern of social justice and responsible
government..,namely the Expectations and Value
systems of people belonging to the distinctives
groups

Attitudes Judgements

Expectations Value systems

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The cultural theoritical approach to risk preparation

explain :
why some issues become politicised and
hence embroiled in disputes over the
allocation of blame
the distribution of power while others
appear to be tolerated within norms and
socila values and trust.
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First assumption of CT, namely that members of

group with a common outlook, are disposed to
impose order on reality in particular ways
Second assumption is that natural systems are full of
surprises and uncertainties, so are predictable.

CT is important to understand the social

construction of risk, through processes of
value identification and trust building
Linking risk, danger and pollution
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Mary Douglas-originator of the cultural theory of

risk.
Argued that the danger taboos linked to acts
of pollution by primities groups play an
intelligible role in maitaining particular
form of social order.
He claimed that social groups hold consistent forms
of explaination for misfortune.
Ex:
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Ex1: Contact between women and cattle d results in

cattle becomig sick and dying.
Ex2: A wifes adutery may cause her husband to
receive a fatal arrow wound.
Ex3: Century 14th Europe, poor water quality wa
persistent danger and Jews began and as a part of.
They re blamed for poisoning well-water.
Ex4: In 1980s, HIV and immorality of homosexual
and promiscuity => moral judgement.
Re-unitting primities and moderns
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They agued a tension between the Center and Border in

US politics.
The Center : Market and Hierarchy.
o Market represents innovation, individualism and progessivism.
o Hierarchy protected the general social order against the
excessed of market oppotunitism.
The Border: sectarian organizations
3 types of culture:
Individualism, Bureaucratic and Sectarian.
These align with individualistic,collective and egalitarian
cultures, respectively.
The Grid-Group typology
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FATALIST (Isolates):
Differences between yet limited bonding between people.
Individuals are left to their own fates, which may be positive or negative for them =>
become apathetic, neither helping others nor themselves.
Those that succeed, however, feel they have done so on their own merits and effectively
need those who are less successful as a contrast that proves this point.

COLLECTIVISM (Positional, Hierarchical):

Strongly connected yet are very different => the development of institutions, hierarchies
and laws that both regulate individual action and provide for weaker social members.
Within overall collectivist hierarchies, other sub-cultures may survive

Ex: where a national collectivist model there may be egalitarian or individualist groups
who, whilst generally obeying national laws, will have differing internal rules.
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INDIVIDUALISM (Markets)
People are relatively similar yet have little obligation to one another.
People enjoy their differences more than their similarities and seek to avoid central authority.
Self-regulation is a critical principle here, as if one person takes advantage of others then power
differences arise and a fatalistic culture would develop.

EGALITARIANISM:
There is less central rule than in collectivism,
Requires individuals to voluntarily help others.
The rule is thus less about law and more about values. External laws may be seen as necessary only when
there is weakness of character, which is prized highly.
The fact that people are essentially similar is very helpful to this culture: the similarity leads people to
agree and adopt similar values.
This is an ideal utopia and while it may survive in smaller groups, national egalitarian cultures are rare, if
any exist. To survive this requires that if one person breaks values, all others turn on this person,
correcting or ejecting them
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4 social context are described as solidarities.

Hierarchies and sects have strong group dimensions.
Markets and isolates are characterised by a weak
group dimension to their social solidarity.