When Cultural Fusion Narrows the World.

What makes us enjoy traveling is the sense of diversity it brings. Each place offers a chance to experience its culture in multiple ways: through its food, landscapes, history, language, and traditions. Everyone has their own preferences and enjoys some or all of these aspects.

Conventions differ across countries. Greeting people with kisses is natural in France and Argentina, while public affection is uncommon elsewhere. Silence during meals is considered a sign of respect and appreciation for food in Japan. In many Latin American and some European countries, conversation, laughter, and overlapping voices are almost the norm at every meal.

We enjoy traveling because of these diverse experiences. But as the world becomes more integrated, we can find sushi in Italy or Argentine steak in Japan. Traveling helps reduce differences among countries, which is positive. It allows for fusion cuisines like Chifa (Chinese-Peruvian food) or Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian cuisine). Language, too, evolves over time, with words from one language adapted to local use.

Overall, diversity within cities increases as people migrate and travel. However, there is also a point to be made that diversity on a global scale decreases.

Imagine there are only two cities in a country: Steak City and Pasta City. In the former, people only eat steak, and in the latter, people only eat pasta. Then they build a bridge. People begin commuting, and some even move to the opposite city. After a few generations, both cities have similar populations, each with half meat eaters and half pasta eaters.

How did the bridge change diversity?

At the city scale, diversity increased. Before the bridge, each city had only one type of individual, but now each has two. However, at the country scale, diversity decreased. Previously, the country had two distinct types of cities, but now it has only one since both are mixed versions of the original two.

As tourists, we might once have been eager to visit each city to experience something different. But now, there’s no longer a reason to, since both cities have become the same.

We could argue that the example is too simple, since perhaps other countries have a combination of three types of cities: Steak City, Pasta City, and Combo City, where both foods can be enjoyed. In that case, the bridge would increase diversity. But in reality, global diversity decreases. Originally, all countries except one had three types of cities. Now, the country that once had only two types has become just like all the others.

The country with the least internal diversity might actually contribute the most to global diversity, precisely because it stands out as an outlier.