From Inequality to Identity: Understanding America’s Cultural Tug-of-War

In this episode of Now I Get It, I dive deep into how cultural differences shape the United States—past and present. Drawing from Geert Hofstede’s groundbreaking IBM studies, I explore how nations differ across dimensions like inequality, gender roles, religion, and individuality. Through that lens, I connect these global cultural frameworks to America’s own fragmented identity—how early immigrant roots, regional histories, and moral certainties have divided and defined the country’s political landscape.

I also unpack how gender distinctions, religion, and attitudes toward uncertainty influence everything from politics to personality. From Appalachian independence to New England collectivism, from authoritarian comfort to improvisational freedom, these cultural currents still ripple through every debate we have today. Understanding them, I argue, is the first step toward finding balance amid the chaos.

In this episode, you will learn:

• (00:00) How IBM’s cultural research helps explain America’s divided identity
• (03:10) Why early immigrant settlements still shape regional attitudes centuries later
• (04:46) The political fault line between equality and inequality in U.S. ideology
• (08:51) How gender, religion, and cultural “masculinity” define national outlooks
• (11:57) The psychology of authoritarianism and the comfort of conformity
• (15:40) Why improvisers crave freedom while stabilizers seek safety
• (17:49) How time orientation—past, present, or future—shapes cultural behavior
• (21:30) The historical tug-of-war between Boston and Charleston—and what it still means today

Let’s connect!

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