Sovereignty and Culture

In a 1931 article entitled ‘World Sovereignty and World Culture: The Trend of International Affairs Since the War’ the historian Arnold J. Toynbeeconcluded by saying:

The need of the hour is to enable the public in each country to understand their neighbours’ point of view. Understanding, of course, does not necessarily bring agreement in its train but it does take the sting out of disagreement. People who really understand one another can disagree without rancour; people who disagree without rancour can discuss their differences with frankness; and a frank discussion of differences is a sovereign means of arriving at an agreement in the end.

If only this were true.