Will the tidal wave of globalization homogenize the world? Or will culture, which drives human behavior, maintain its influence?In The Cultural Imperative: Global Trends in the Twenty-first Century, Richard D. Lewis explores these questions and examines the forces that keep us tied to our cultural heritage. According to Lewis, throughout history and across the globe, we all have worn "cultural spectacles," glasses tinted with our own cultural biases. These glasses ensure that our individual cultural traits will always be a part of us, as they are a part of the very way in which we see the world.As he examines the world after 9/11, with focus on the rise of Islam and the current state of the West, Lewis disproves the theory of inevitable globalization and identifies the forces that ensure that cultural perspective will always play a role in our lives.