It turns out that countries have dominant enneagram types, and sub-types. France is a Four culture, Canada is a Social Nine, and the USA is a Social Three.
Let us look at what the role of the dominant culture means to the spectrum of individuals within that culture, who naturally represent all the possible types. We will limit our discussion to the United States of America, with an easily recognizable Social Three type, but the method is equally applicable to other cultures and subcultures within the dominate culture.
What does a Social Three dominant culture mean? The Social variant means that the expected way of being in the US is for people to be social, not the intensity of the sexual type (also called one-to-one ), or the hermit-like style of the self-preservation style. This Social variant is most easily recognized in the Presidential election season where every candidate needs a full “social” calendar and is expected to spend most of the day interacting with groups of people!
What does the Three mean? Three culture is one of personal achievement, picking oneself up by one’s bootstraps, salesmanship , self-promotion. An example of an individual with this style is the actor Tom Cruise, who is always a Three, but especially his role in Jerry Maguire.
Each type has a natural connection with some other types and two types with no connection. Since type Three is our dominant culture in the USA, the way Three interacts with other types plays out in individual’s roles in the larger society. Let us go through the nine types to see which are advantaged and which are not.
As a type Three culture, type Three is in the privileged position. Type Threes are living the national myth of self promotion and achievement. If you are a type Three in this culture, you are directly and positively connected to the national story and myth.
Type Three as two possible wings—the adjoining types. Type Two, the Helper, is advantaged as part of the community spirit of volunteering and helping others, as the wife and helpmate, as the one who makes the whole work. The other wing, Type Four, is the artist. Here we have entertainment, especially music, television and film, as major national economic systems and major exports. We value our type Fours.
Three’s direction of integration is the type Six, the Skeptic or Loyalist. The positive side of Six is the patriot, who sacrifices for the common good. But there is a downside to Six in our culture, the Tea Party, Arian Nation, Gun Rights combination of extreme isolation from the mainstream and from the world community. Timothy McVeigh would be an example of this version of Six.
The direction of disintegration is type Nine, the peacemaker or mediator. At its best, we have the Marshall Plan, international diplomacy, peaceful multi-cultural neighborhoods. But there is again a downside. The Nine can manifest as the lazy, the welfare nation, those who are expecting (rightly or wrongly) to be supported by others.
We have now explored type Three’s connection to four other types: Two, Four, Six and Nine. Together they are five of the nine types. Each type has a fascination with its two opposite types. For Three these are Seven and Eight. Type Seven is the adventurer, the explorer, the bon vivant. The US culture admires type Sevens, holding them up in literature, television and movies. Think of Lewis and Clark and their expedition to explore the Northwestern part of what is now the United States. The downside of type Seven is the addict, and we have plenty of people who are addicted to fame, sugar, alcohol and drugs.
Type Eight is also an object of fascination for the Three. Eight is the Boss, the Director, the Master. We need our strong heroes. Consider the adoration of winning Generals in times past: MacArthur and Patton and Eisenhower, Grant and Robert E. Lee! The downside of the powerful Eight is the crime lord: Al Capone would be an example.
We now have two types that are not directly connected to type Three: One and Five. These two types are less at home in American culture. They are almost always seen as their negative stereotypes, not their positive expressions. Type One is the Perfectionist, the Purist, the Saint. Ones are seen as their negatives in the religious extremists of American history, who have lives of simplicity, purity and little commerce. Consider the Salem Witch Trials as an example. Type Five is the Theoretician, the Scholar, the Scientist. Fives are not highly regarded in our culture, as seen in much popular culture with the Mad Scientist as a stock character. They are nerds, and crazy or evil scientists.
How does understanding the USA’s Social Three type help us understand the world? The downside of the Three is the Self-Aggrandizer who has little or nothing to promote. We are seen as loudmouthed people who lack much depth, but expect to always have the leadership position. Countries of other types will each seen us differently, with some more inclined to our favor than others. The innate connection between Three and Nine, for example, explains the natural alliance of the USA with Canada. Countries with strong One or Five cultures would be less swayed by our press releases.
For individuals knowing the dominant culture tells us how we can make our way. The dominant culture is Three. How does our type connect with Three? Two types are particularly disadvantaged in a Three culture: One and Five. These types are best isolating themselves in a subculture that honors their type, with links to the main culture through appropriate types that can bridge the difference.
Other types will find themselves cast in particular roles, as their type is seen by Threes. It is helpful to understanding that assignment, if not necessarily to limit themselves by it.
Understanding a country’s enneagram type is very helpful to individuals immersed in that culture and to other countries and their understanding.
I hope this has assisted you in understanding yourself and your culture.
Lalia
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