7 - RULES

Are rules culture-related?

There are differences between various cultures in the ways they do things and in what they regard as ‘normal behaviour’.

We probably all agree that it is a good thing that there are traffic rules. Most of us will agree that waiting for a red light - whether as a pedestrian or a car driver - is not going to cost us a lot of extra time. We probably agree that ‘zipping’ - when two lanes of traffic merge - is quite an effective way of working together on the road; letting someone join your lane in front of you, and not only behind you, is good for the flow of traffic. We probably also agree that we should keep our cities and our countryside clean, that car drivers should not empty their ashtrays on the street or throw wrappers out of their window ("don't be a tosser"), that we should not spit on the pavement, etc. And yet, we all break these rules occasionally, especially when no one is looking, when it is not going to cost us any money (a fine), and when we expect that someone else is going to clean up after us.

Is that perhaps at the root of our behaviour? Are we all - all the people in Europe and elsewhere - self-centred anarchists? Are we all ready to break rules when nobody is looking, or when we are not likely to get caught? If that is the case, then the difference between cultures in this respect might be just a question of a different approach to rule breaking, with some people being more ready than others to take risks.

The point is that if we had been born in a different culture we would do exactly what the people in that society do.

This is - or should be - a sobering thought.

Do Task 13.

You are done with this unit.