Hopefully this day never dawns on the West, but Westerners will know they live in a high Power Distance World if there emerges a class distinction between those with the data and those without; and invoking Machiavelli, if those on the wrong side of that distinction abstain from action out of fear, rather than acting out of love. The meta point is that the West’s values of low Power Distance, in a more data-driven world, are actually leading to greater structural power distances in Western society.

The concept of Power Distance is tarnished because it cannot account for changing circumstances. People who might be biased toward lower power distance might encounter a high power distance world around them, or imposed upon them, and they adapt, signaling that Power Distance is junior to other dimensions. If a new breakthrough in theoretical physics occurs it is likely to affect how a marine biologist thinks of the hydrodynamic limits of cetaceans; but that flow is unlikely to go in reverse. For example, a Scandinavian in Abu Dhabi will conform to greater deference to authority. In other words, Power Distance will melt away, while other, deeper dimensions will ensure he is still a Fin or a Swede.