When a civilization becomes stable and prosperous enough, it can afford to explore the Arts. Though cultural achievements often have little practical value, they are frequently the measure by which history — and other cultures — judge a people. A strong culture also helps to build a cohesive society that can resist assimilation by an occupying force.

Another new road to success is through cultural dominance. When a culture is so overwhelmingly impressive and widespread that even the rulers of other civilizations long to take part in it, it can be said that the civilization truly controls the world, regardless of the military and political situation.

[from Sid Meier’s Civilization III, Atari Interactive, Inc.]

I have always been a fan of the Civilization games, beginning with the first release on Sony Playstation [One], but I have never liked winning the game by any other conquest than military domination. I have never quite understood the subtleties of the game’s machinations (the pseudo-A.I. machinations) which would lead to cultural dominance; and, the space-race victories are a big letdown after so many hours of play. In truth, I’ve never sought any other domination but military conquest, after the inaugural release of Sid Meier’s game onto the first Playstation.

The game is on my mind today because of an article on Christian Science Monitor: On world stage, France’s role is audience favorite. A survey conducted in 23 countries around the world resulted in a positive rating for France by majorities or pluralities in 20 countries — as compared to the U.S., which received a negative rating by majorities in 15 of those countries. The U.S. gave France a negative rating (52%).

Certainly, Paris appeals in part precisely because it is not Washington. But it goes beyond that. From the streets of Shanghai to Berlin, Monitor interviews found that the French flair for the finer things in life has a special cachet.

French movies are admired worldwide for their subtlety and depth; French fashion houses dress the rich and powerful worldwide; and the lure of French art and cuisine fascinated foreigners long before Paris stood up to Washington politically.

French culture — along with France’s staunch individualism, its willingness to oppose Washington — is admired most in the surveyed nations.

China is happy with France’s willingness to end arms embargoes to the communist country; but the average Chinese citizen is more enthralled by France’s culture:

As the first Western nation to recognize Communist China, France won a special place in Chinese hearts (72 percent of Chinese respondents saw French influence as positive).

Beijing also warms to French policies, such as its failed crusade earlier this year to end a 16-year-old EU ban on arms sales to China, and its support for China’s push to unify with Taiwan.

For ordinary Chinese, however, the Parisian pull appears to be more cultural. “Well-educated people in Beijing like French films more than American films now,” says Wang Qing, a specialist in French cultural exchanges for the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. “In French films we can see something more sophisticated.”

Asked why the Chinese liked France, Wang Li, a woman in Shanghai, replied simply, “The French have money and good culture.”

Speaking of China, another article from CSM caught my attention today. I have previously written of China’s Tango with Latin America, about Latino cultural influences in China; but it seems that it really does take two to tango: East meets West, with an Argentine twist.

As China rapidly increases its economic presence in the region, more Argentines are seeing their country’s relationship with China as important to their own future. The number of people studying Mandarin in Argentina this year has tripled since last year, according to the Chinese Embassy here. The number of Argentines traveling to China this year has more than doubled since 2003. In the capital these days, all things Chinese are “in” or re fashion as they say here. Women sport Mao collars. Books on Taoism are in demand.

This reminds me of the Pew Global Survey which showed favorability ratings up sharply for China in comparison with favorability ratings for the U.S.

Until recently, American culture has dominated the world stage. American culture still dominates — but it has largely been assimilated by other nations, or soon will be. The American Idol phenomenon has even reached China and the Middle East (even though it began as a British phenomenon); American cinema and pop culture are filtering throughout the world; American technology also spreads like wildfire (albeit, sometimes haphazardly ); and “Gay Pride” parades happen worldwide. Once American cultural elements have spread, they become a part of the local culture, or part of a worldwide culture. Over the years, America has experienced the payback from its cultural influences, including a vibrant American economy and effective American diplomacy around the world; but there is no “payback” once the debt is paid. America might offer democracy, technology, advanced cinema, pop songs, but these can be had elsewhere — and the offerings from other nations either reflect American culture or sometimes exceed the products of American culture. We should not be surprised that French and Chinese cultures are admired as much as they are admired worldwide: these are two of the most xenophobic, self-propelled cultures on the planet. They do not so easily lose their identity in the crush of civilizations. (Although, China might.)

Only two major opponents of American cultural influence now exist: the global Islamic jihad, and our own generalized statism. The first is doomed to failure, because it is really fighting a global culture which happens to reflect a century of American cultural influence; the second may succeed if we do not unhinge our economy and rethink our recent foreign entanglements. So much as our national policy is focused on achieving one objective via one method, our statism will bankrupt us economically and culturally. I am excluding from my list of opponents the rise of China, the influence of France or India or any other nation, because cultural influence is not something that can be had through the confrontation of nations. Indeed, cultural influence has more opportunity to flower in the cooperation between nations than in the confrontation: It is for successfully navigating future confrontations that we need cultural influence.