Cultural Isolationism, Lights and Shadows

Ethnocentrism, xenophobia and cultural chauvinism can get unbridled in many ways. Ignoring cultural relations and dialogue is a sign of anachronism today. The author presents cultural "insularity" from the point of view of the obstacles that hinder its controlling. These obstacles are: a) irreducible and intolerant peculiarity and ethnicism; b) isolationism reverted to a political and cultural program; c) a psychological background characterized by typical complexes (victimization, local patriotism, etc.); d) the formation of local hierarchies promoting a "parochial" cultural system; e) the inorganic cultivation of cultural universalism versus multi- culturalism.

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