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Consider the fol- things aren’t very good, doesn’t interest Americans; they
lowing exchange between prefer to see things the way they could be. If optimism is
an American and a German: your starting point in life—always looking on the bright
SUSAN: Did you see the fourth side, the glass is half full, and every cloud has a silver lin-
quarter sales figures yet? ing—then naturally people like Horst, who are merely
HORST: Yes. Rather bad; down realistic, will come across to you as pessimistic. And true
a third from last year. pessimists will no doubt strike you as downright cynics.
SUSAN: We really took a beating. Let’s consider how Americans got this way. A good
HORST: Yes. We did very poorly. part of the explanation deals with a concept we have
SUSAN: Oh, well. We might discussed earlier in this space, locus of control. Locus
as well look on the bright side; of control deals with issues of cause and effect and who
things can only go up from here. or what is ultimately responsible for what happens in
HORST: I’m not so sure; the figures could go either way. life. Cultures, for a variety of reasons, tend to fall into
SUSAN: Sure, but no point in being gloomy though, one of two camps on this issue: the internalists and the
is there? externalists. Some typical sentiments of these two camps
HORST: What do you mean? are laid out below:
Horst is taken aback by being
called “gloomy,” since there is clearly
INTERNALIST EXTERNALIST
no basis in fact —or in the figures—
for that characterization. Gloomy Activism, interventionism. What happens Fatalism, stoicism. Some things are just
in life is primarily up to you; the individual not meant to be, no matter how hard you
would mean he’s being negative, look-
is in control in most cases; things happen try. The individual can influence/control
ing at the situation as worse than it is. because you “make” them happen, and if they many situations, but there are other things
But he’s not. are not happening, then you “do something” you can’t do anything about and must just
The situation isn’t very good— about the situation; there is never any real accept. Sometimes failure is unavoidable
Susan herself says “We really took a excuse for why something can’t be done in spite of your efforts; some limits are real
beating”—and both speakers agree (except laziness or you just gave up). The only and not self-imposed; sometimes your luck
limits to what you can achieve are internal, is good, sometimes not; some problems do
the figures could go either way. The
those you impose on yourself; failure means not have a solution; that’s just how it is.
only fair reading of this exchange, you didn’t try hard enough; there’s no such Possibilities are circumscribed; you don’t
then, is to say Horst is being realistic, thing as luck; you make your own luck. Fate always get another chance. Life is in part
objective—describing the situation as and destiny can be transcended by individual what happens to you.
neither better nor worse than the fig- will and determination. Life is what I do.
ures suggest. If you’re going to accuse
Horst of something, you could accuse
him of being a realist, but you can’t accuse him of being a While individuals in a particular culture can end up
pessimist, which is why he’s surprised to be labeled gloomy. anywhere along the continuum, it is possible to plot the
Although there are no facts to support Susan, most position of national cultures. I have asked people from
American readers would probably agree with her, for one all over the world in training events to do just that for
very simple reason: Americans are not realists. In fact, their society in general, and the results have been remark-
they’re unabashed and unapologetic optimists. There’s ably consistent. Typically, the cultures of the Middle
nothing wrong with being an optimist, of course, but East, southern Europe, and Latin America tend to be
optimists should never be relied upon to see things the medium to strong externalists, while North Americans
way they are. The truth is the way things are, especially if and most northern Europeans tend to be medium to