When trying to sustain / an independent ethos, / cultures / face a problem / of critical mass.

No single individual, / acting on his or her own, / can produce an ethos.

Rather, / an ethos / results / from the interdependent acts / of many individuals.

This cluster of produced meaning / may require / some degree of insulation / from larger and wealthier outside forces.

The Canadian Inuit / maintain their own ethos, / even though they number / no more than twenty-four thousand.

They / manage this feat / through a combination of trade, / to support their way of life, and geographic isolation.

The Inuit / occupy remote territory, / removed from major population centers of Canada.

If cross-cultural contact / were to become sufficiently close, / the Inuit ethos / would disappear.

Distinct cultural groups of similar size / do not, in the long run, persist / in downtown Toronto, Canada, / where they / come in contact / with many outside influences / and pursue / essentially Western paths / for their lives.