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An assumption here is that a social and economic firebreak exists between the problems and issues faced by the developing country and the problems and issues faced by the advanced-industrial country. Hence in examining the impact of political-cultural diversity on a society, this Third World-First World dichotomy must be controlled for. The analysis in this book is limited to the OECD countries.
A second assumption is that political-cultural diversity is likely to possess positive benefits to society only under specific policy circumstances. It is the ‘right policy context’ in which political-cultural diversity operates that will determine whether positive benefits are delivered to political institutions and to the commercial market-place. This book makes explicit the scope and nature of this policy context.
What is meant by “right political context’? Suppose that in a complex system like a polity or a market, an independent variable has a dual impact–one positive, one negative. Suppose as well that the variable is a function of time, circumstance, the part of the system impacted, and the age of the system. Although both the positive and negative effects may be operative simultaneously, the positive effect might be stronger in one situation, the negative effect stronger in another. In other words, the impact of the independent variable on this system is conditional.
Like a traffic light on a street corner, this conditional independent variable operates all of the time. The light monitors traffic continuously; but sometimes, depending on traffic flow, time of day, and other factors programmed into the light, the light flashes red or the light flashes green. So with the impact of political-cultural diversity on a polity or a market, the net result of the dual effects of diversity may be positive or negative. A red light comes on for development when low per capita income, missing property rights, corruption, and lack of adequate political representation, on the one hand, and an absence of the ‘right policy context’ on the other, subvert the benefits of political-cultural diversity.