Economicist determinism and cargo cultism
In a now famous "rationalist" blog there is an interesting and all too typical argument about "western culture" not being western but universal:
Let me say again that this universal culture, though it started in the West, was western only in the most cosmetic ways. If China or the Caliphate had industrialized first, they would have been the ones who developed it, and it would have been much the same. The new sodas and medicines and gender norms invented in Beijing or Baghdad would have spread throughout the world, and they would have looked very familiar. The best way to industrialize is the best way to industrialize.
This argument is so precious because it is based on some amazingly "optimistic" assumptions:
That there exactly one “universal culture” compatible with what is the “best way to industrialize”.
That what we have is indeed the “best way to industrialize” rather than one relatively better than others discovered so far.
That even if it were the absolute “best way to industrialize” it would have to be unique.
That somehow the enormous budgets and efforts devoted to propaganda about the “best way to industrialize” and the “universal culture” by those interests that do the best out of them have not had any effect.
The argument therefore looks like noddy-marxist vulgar economicism, of the "end of history" variety though, where the inevitable march of progress delivers the best of all possible worlds, reminding us of Plato, Leibnitz, Voltaire, Hegel, Fukuyama.
But the really big objection is of quite a different nature: whether they are unique or not, whether they are the best or not, whether they have been pushed forward by relentless propaganda, whether they are universal or contingent, the western "way to industrialize" and "culture" are quite successful, and most people imitate those who are successful, because cargo-cultism is widespread.
That is both as a to economist systems and culture, in both the small scale and the large scale, there is a tendency to "follow the leader", or more simply "do as the boss does".
That is not just a yearning to learn from others and adopt their "best practices", it goes all the way to cargo cultism: simple imitation of behaviour in the hope that somehow matters to achieving the same results.
There are so many cases of simple cargo cultism where worldwide culture has simply being americanized, not just because american sodas are simply better, for example:
When England ruled 1/3 of the world the english style of business dress became the european and american style of business dress, and also that of Japan. There cannot be an argument that such managerial dress style is "better" in any sense of effectiveness.
As to sodas, before WW2 all european countries had their own often excellent soda brands and beverages, and even the USA had many different variants and brands. During and after WW2 american soda brands were widely consumed by USA soldiers occupying most countries, and since they were the winners, the local populations started to imitate them.
A long time ago during the roman empire the ideal physical type for women included auburn hair (because roman ladies had auburn hair), and blond hair was regarded as vulgar (because many slaves were purchased from northern europe and were blond). The ideal hair color only switched to blond after the successful germanic invasions defeated the ruling class of which auburn haired roman women were part.
From contemporary asian movies it is clear that even in universities, even in those in the People's Republic Of China, even elite ones, there are cheerleaders dancing with pon-pons at university basketball matches. Again there cannot be such celebratory acts are "better" in any sense of effectiveness.
Overall the current “universal culture” has an indisputably english and american flavor, because the “best way to industrialize” is just the way that english and american economies industrialized, is relatively the most successful, and the lobbies vested in that way shaped in their own interests the resulting culture. If China or the Caliphate had industrialized first, their way to industrialize might have been even better, but it would have worked anyhow as long as it were better than the others, and the resulting culture would have been distinctly chinese or islamic, and regardless adopted elsewhere because of the instinct to imitate the successful.