Divergent belief systems across cultures cause misunderstanding that reduces cooperation

Evidence

At a more mundane level, there are numerous cases of gross misunderstanding between members of different cultures because they are orienting to different beliefs systems (Gumperz 1982), and clearly anything which reduces this and increases the sense of mutual understanding can lead to greater cooperation. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 721

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels how Saramago’s sighted and blind characters no longer share a belief context, wrecking interpretive coordination.