According to Pence, Cultural Relativism is the "ethical theory that moral evaluation is rooted in and cannot be separated from the experience, beliefs and behaviors of a particular culture. Hence, that what is wrong in one culture may not be so in another." (Pence 12) As more nations are affected by the growth of western globalization, it is becoming more difficult to understand cultural relativism. Societies are becoming less differentiated, time honored customs are being replaced by modern trends, and a standard code of morals is generally accepted by most people. Although many people are hesitant to accept it, the evolution of this historical intolerance to cultural diversity is what has shaped most modern societies in westernized nations.
A straightforward way to analyze cultural relativism is to look at its place, or lack thereof, in history. Take, for instance, the explorative voyages made by European settlers between the sixteen and eighteen hundreds. The English, French, Spanish and Dutch journeyed to and claimed the unexplored trans-oceanic lands which include modern day North and South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. As it was discovered, in many of these new territories civilization already existed. Algonquian, Aztec, Aborigine, Maori?the existence of these peoples was irrelevant, and were universally regarded as savage and uncivilized races. This led the Europeans to assume that their lifestyles were superior technologically, as well as ethically, to the native peoples that they had discovered. The fact that the tribes had established efficient, reliable lifestyles and lived in general harmony with nature was ignored. The primitive, occasionally brutal ceremon ...