You'd be surprised at my degree of uncertainty

[imomus]

Bush, Mixed Messages, and Hofstede's Dimensions

Comments

[batmite2000.livejournal.com]

That is a really interesting article! Thank you very much! :)

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

I think it's just a little bit wrong to assume that Bush represents all of America, since not all of America voted for/wants Bush in power. And on another slightly related note, I don't even think Bush really represents the Republican party. He sort of grew a cultural cult/ideology of his own that really almost shares nothing with traditional Republican fiscal conservatism and their wish for diminished federal goverment power, as you mentioned in your post.
One of the great (and often frustrating) aspects of America is its diversity in opinion. We're uncertain about uncertainty, you're right about that.

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

By the way, how exactly did Hofstede come up with his rankings-- do you know?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm very much not saying that Bush represents all of America. My point is that there are divisions within the neo-con ideology, and divisions within American ways of thinking. This president has divided America to an unprecedented degree.

As for Hofstede's methodology on the national rankings, he surveyed the attitudes of IBM workers in 64 national subsidiaries. He quizzed 116,000 workers. Their responses were assigned numerical ratings on each of the 'dimensions', between 0 and 100. All the grades were then averaged out and displayed in the form of national tables. Some have criticised Hofstede's techniques, but many subsequent studies have found his conclusions to be sound. An Introductory Guide To Cross-Cultural Training (http://www.cidaindia.org/Cross-Cultural%20Training.pdf) is quite a good introduction to Hofstede, with a detailed comparison of Indian and Canadian attitudes.

[nickink.livejournal.com]

Yes, a fantastic read 1 But I'm going to hace to read more about it, because some of those scores surprise me a lot and lead me to think I'm making the wrong associations with the Dimensions.

Belgium and Portugal, for example, have sky-high scores on the Uncertainty Avoidance dimension, while Jamaica is as low as 13. Jamaica also has a noticeably moderate Masculinity score.

Fascinating stuff though, and the analogies you draw with Bush are intriguing, especially the last point about 'zoning uncertainty and chaos', which seems to me very much his strategy.

It's also interesting that from this angle, kerry emerges as representing completely opposite principles, wheras the majority opinion I've encountered of 'better the devil you don't know' implies that he's perceived as cut from the same cloth in broad terms.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

It's traditional at election time for candidates to reach out to the other side, to win support from their rivals' followers. Kerry is doing that, pushing lots of rhetorical buttons normally associated with Republicanism -- strength, security, hunting and killing enemies, etc. (It's true he always adds a 'but', though, and after the 'but' comes the Democratic position, clearly different.) Bush, this time, is not reaching out to the Democratic base, or not doing it convincingly. He's singing to the choir. He seems to think that pleasing the narrow conservative base is enough. He seems to think that if he hammers home GOP values, the undecideds and Democrats will swing into line behind them. This is a huge miscalculation, and will lose him the election.

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

I'm not so sure that singing to the choir is so much a disadvantage to Bush since he seems to be doing well in the polls. He may be losing Republicans, but I think he's gaining as many if not more cultural "conservatives." It's rather disgusting, really.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Current electoral vote predictor (http://www.electoral-vote.com/) score: Bush 239, Kerry 280. Electoral college votes needed to win: 270.

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah. Kerry is doing better now, after the debates. But Bush was up for a scary while. I was actually surprised that people were still undecided enough to switch sides as a result of watching the debates. I mean, come on. It isn't that hard to compare Bush to anybody else and see that he's a total ignoramus, even if you compare him against flip-flop Kerry.

[qualities.livejournal.com]

momus, save my country, please. everything hangs in the balance, and im very worried. we're all very worried. perhaps a clever song or something might make all the difference? im totally serious.

do people in other countries spend as much time furiously fretting over this election as people in the usa do?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Possibly more. After all, we're the ones he's going to 'rezone uncertainty' towards.

[qualities.livejournal.com]

yes, of course...i suppose i knew that already. ever go out to a restaurant with some friends, and one of them suddenly starts to act positively cruelly toward the wait staff? gruff, condescending, boorish? thats exactly the way i feel a bout this. thats exactly what its like. everyone at our table is just kind of sitting around, making desperate eye contact with people at other tables, as if saying, "hes not "really" with us!" or, "look, i cant help it"

the latest polls ive seen are not as optimistic as the one you linked to, but theyre all at least close.

[honeychurch.livejournal.com]

my fifteen year old cat, who used to live with my parents, came to live with me and my housemates (one of whom owns the house). He has a tendency to throw up daily on my roommate's beautiful hardwood floors. I rush to clean it up, and try to be as apologetic as possible when she sees it, and hide it when I can.

It feels something like that, except I love my cat.

[nickink.livejournal.com]

If I was the kind of person who typed acronyms for when i rolled around on the floor laughing my arse off, this would be the first ever opportunity I would have had to do so.

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

Ha. Maybe we should allow non-US citizens to vote in our presidential elections, since their outcome seems to be a cause for concern overseas as well.

[honeychurch.livejournal.com]

although, I know a woman with dual Israeli-American citizenship, who lives in Israel (and has for years), who is voting for Bush, so, maybe not.

[w-e-quimby.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Ouch. I forgot-- Bush does good things for people with lots of money.

[(Anonymous)]

"Re-zoning uncertainty". I think you hit the nail on the head with that one. How about another, "cash for chaos"...

Richard G

[imomus.livejournal.com]

N.I.M.B.Y.!

Perhaps My Brains

[nedbalthus.livejournal.com]

An Eno reference is a pleasant surprise first thing in the morning. Thank you, sir.

[shadowblue.livejournal.com]

Very interesting theory. Hm.

I will have to read more about Hofstede.

[but-why.livejournal.com]

The Australian federal election ended last night with the antipodean equivalent of the Republican party romping in over their opposition to return to office for a fourth term.

This result was not anticipated, but perhaps inevitable. I hope it doesn't set a precedent for the american election.

[stanleylieber.livejournal.com]

I'm calling the American election for Bush simply on strength of Saturday Night Live's complete failure to criticize him harshly in the first post-debate episode. They were strenuously 'fair' towards both candidates.

Before the primaries, Gore appeared on an episode and used a curse word. I said to myself: "He must be planning on dropping out of the race." The next day he announced he was not running.

There are few truly reliable cultural barometers, but in my experience, this has been one of them.