Ethnocentrism is Everywhere

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Recommended: Define ethnocentrism and contrast it with cultural relativism

Ethnocentrism is Everywhere

Ethnocentrism is a commonly used word in circles where ethnicity,

inter-ethnic relations, and similar social issues are of concern. The

usual definition of the term is thinking one's own group's ways are

superior to others or judging other groups as inferior to one's own.

Ethnic refers to cultural heritage, and centrism refers to the central

starting point. So ethnocentrism basically refers to judging other

groups from our own cultural point of view. Even this does not address

the underlying issue of why people do this. Most people, thinking of

the shallow definition, believe that they are not ethnocentric, but

are rather open minded and tolerant. However everyone is

ethnocentric, and there is no way around being ethnocentric.

Ethnocentricity cannot be avoided, nor can it be willed away by a

positive or well-meaning attitude.

To address the deeper issues involved in ethnocentrism calls for a

more explicit definition. In this sense, ethnocentrism can be defined

as: making false assumptions about others' ways based on our own

limited experience. The key word is assumptions, because we are not

even aware that we are being ethnocentric. Westerners have a binary

conflict view of life (right or wrong, liberal versus conservative,

etc.), and we try to impose our "win or lose" perspective of life on

situations in other cultures. As a result, we do not understand how

they experience life, that trying is a basic element of life.

There are many, many examples of such differences in meanings that

make life experience so unique for all the human groups around the

world. For example, English has tenses built int...

... middle of paper ...

...nk people should be "friendly"? Once we realize that we

are not understanding, we are now in a better position to seek more

valid and balanced understandings. If we appreciate that their life

experience can be as valid for them as ours is for us, acknowledge

that we may be misunderstanding, and ask them to help us understand,

most people are more than willing to help us understand better.

Perhaps no one can ever have complete understanding of another people,

without fully experiencing everything they experience. However, this

does not mean we cannot develop a functional understanding, to

interact successfully with others. Like other life skills, practice at

every opportunity helps us develop our abilities to catch ourselves

being ethnocentric and asking good questions to better understand

others' cultural behavior.

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