[secfirstmd]

Yes I also think this is a part of it. As the world becomes more internationalist and multi-cultural, it makes it harder to dehumanise please who we now have the chance to communicate with in an instant, read about, travel to their country etc

[theoh]

One of Hofstede's observations is that developed countries tend to be more individualistic, treating others as individuals rather than in-group or out-group. There are other correlated features on his individualism-collectivism dimension, such as the nature and purpose of education. The paper "Dimensionalizing Cultures" covers this in depth.