Making comparisons, part 4



Zachary Latif links to an International Business Center chart comparing the Hofstede Cultural Dimensions for 56 countries. The Hofstede dimensions are an attempt to statistically measure certain social indicators including inequality, individualism, gender roles and risk-averseness.



The Hofstede rankings, like most attempts to reduce cultural traits to statistics, are of doubtful utility. They were created primarily as rules of thumb for managers, and as such were based on workplace surveys, which may not represent accurate cross-sections of the population. Hofstede's original data were also collected during the 1970s, and may not account for social change during the past thirty years; there have been subsequent confirmatory studies, but these have been based on surveys of even narrower population sectors.



The data for Israel do appear somewhat dated. For instance, the Power Distance index, which purportedly measures social inequality, is at a very low level - a result more consistent with the early days of socialism and national solidarity than with present-day neo-Thatcherism and rising income disparities. Nevertheless, even an inaccurate study can be meaningful if it is inaccurate in the same way with respect to all countries - even if it is not valid as to individual countries, it provides a basis for comparison at a particular point in time.



Such a comparison indicates that Israel is essentially a Western society. The country with the Hofstede profile closest to Israel is Austria, and the Israeli indices are closest to the mean for "Christian" (i.e., non-Catholic) countries. If Israel's artificially high "uncertainty avoidance" index - which is likely a product of its ongoing state of siege - is taken into account, then it is even closer to the "Christian" norm.



The "Christian" countries studied by Hofstede are mainly in northern Europe, although they also include the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica and South Africa. Of these, the European countries have profiles closest to Israel, with the non-European countries having higher levels of individualism and inequality. A similar survey taken in present-day Israel, however, would likely result in higher scores in these two areas, creating a profile closer to that of the United States.



It may be, then, that Israel is becoming more Americanized socially even as it increases its economic and institutional ties to Europe. Certainly, the Israeli indicators - even extrapolated for their probable present-day value - are closer to the West in general than to other Middle Eastern countries. It probably isn't wise to read too much into these statistics, but they seem to reflect the common wisdom.