Geographical and aesthetic inclusiveness: A new cultural worldview? The case of nine European countries

Abstract

The European social landscape has changed due to Europeanization, globalization, and migration processes, leading to more transnational exchanges, personal relations connecting people from different European countries, and greater cultural and ethnic diversity. Our research explored whether these processes have led to a new inclusionary cultural worldview and the possible social underpinnings. We analyse the inclusionary cultural worldview on two levels: geographical inclusiveness, reflecting an openness to other cultures, and aesthetic inclusiveness, reflecting an openness to go beyond a traditional hierarchical highbrow view of culture. In our research, based on a recent survey conducted in nine European countries, we find evidence for both inclusionary and exclusionary orientations in both geographical and aesthetic worldviews, with the inclusionary and exclusionary orientations correlating with each other and constituting a cultural worldview. We further find that the inclusionary worldview is more pronounced among better educated and older people, among women, and in more socioeconomically developed countries. In contrast, the exclusionary worldview is more common among less educated and older people, men, and in less socioeconomically developed and less economically stable countries.