Layered social influence promotes multiculturality in the Axelrod model

Abstract

Despite the presence of increasing pressure towards globalisation, the coexistence of different cultures is a distinctive feature of human societies. However, how multiculturality can emerge in a population of individuals inclined to imitation, and how it remains stable under cultural drift, i.e. the spontaneous mutation of traits in the population, still needs to be understood. To solve such a problem, we propose here a microscopic model of culture dissemination which takes into account that, in real social systems, the interactions are organised in various layers corresponding to different interests or topics. We show that the addition of multiplexity in the modeling of our society generates qualitatively novel dynamical behavior, producing a new stable regime of cultural diversity. This finding suggests that the layered organisation of social influence typical of modern societies is the key ingredient to explain why and how multiculturality emerges and thrives in our world.