The Ideal Internationalist

The other night, my roommate and I got to talking about a universal government. He made some excellent points to the detriment of the idea, namely, that it would spell the end of cultural diversity and lead to a genetic equilibrium. Nevertheless, if the only options are between cultural assimilation and cultural isolation (though I certainly don't think that these are the only choices), which would be the more preferable of the two?

It seems to me that cultural assimilation would be of more desirability, but if this assimilation is imposed upon humanity by a universal form of government, and thereby leads to the aforementioned results, how should we approach this?

First of all, allow me to paint a picture of the forced assimilation that would come from universal government. With the multiplicity of culture that exists in the world, a combination of these cultures seems impracticable. Therefore, one culture would have to be imposed upon the world's population. This culture may be taken from the existing multiplicity, or be a "synthetic culture" that is devised by anthropologists with the intention of creating a culture that contains the "best of all worlds." It follows, though, that no matter what, this would lead to the exclusion of some cultures, and thereby their demise.

It should be added that it seems fair to say that some, if not most, would simply not want to have a "universal culture" imposed upon them.

This said, I think it logical to say that my roommate was dead-on. A universal government would necessitate the abolition of a multiplicity of cultures.

What, then, should be done in order to avoid a state of cultural isolation? Rather than try to impose a synthetic culture upon many that do not want it, I view the best path of action to be one taken up by individuals. These individuals would do all they could to assimilate the multiplicity of culture into themselves. Much like Nietzsche's Overman, these individuals would not be bound by convention, although in this case, they would transcend cultural norms, rather than moral ones. (This, of course, opens up an investigation into the ways in which culture influences morality, but that discussion must be saved for later.)

The development of this "Cultural Overman" is a task which I've taken upon myself. To discover the world, to experience new things, to constantly expand my lexicon of knowledge as regards culture, language, and societies - this is my goal. I wish to become "The Ideal Internationalist."