ns. Despite their cultural differences, the nations of the East, as an example, are uniting because the leaders of those countries recognize that it is their economic interest to do so.
Huntington argues that "The success of the North American Free Trade [Agreement] depends on the convergence now underway of Mexican, Canadian and American cultures" (27). Huntington is wrong. To the contrary, the success of NAFTA depends on these countries setting aside their massive cultural differences and recognizing that it is in their economic interests to unite under such a pact.
Even in secondary matters, Huntington is being proven wrong by the advance of time in this "new world." He writes that "the West is at a peak of power" (26), but in fact the most powerful region in the world in the future will be the Far East, including Japan, China, and other nations in the north and south of Asia. In addition, the growing power of the Far East is based not on cultural similarity (which does not exist) but on economic dominance.
The opening of the markets of China to the world demonstrates that cultural considerations are insignificant compared to economic considerations. The leaders of China have made clear that they will deal with any nation which wants to deal with them on terms which are favorable to them, with little if any consideration for cultural similarity or dissimilarity. It is likely that Japan and China will be competing viciously with one another for the world's economic attention, rather than binding together on the basis of any cultural similarities which Huntington believes he perceives.
This is not to say that cultural factors are entirely insignificant, only that they are secondary to economic motivations. For example, one might argue that the Arab and/or Islamic nations of the Middle East have united in the last three decades because of cultural imperatives. In fact, however, the stand which these nations have taken aga...