An important part of the context of The Diamond Age is an ongoing debate about comparing cultures. One of the motivating questions of the novel and behind the actions of many characters is this: Are some cultures simply better than others? That’s a controversial question made even more so by the impact of new forms of imperialism on the various cultures and groups in the novel.

Stephenson incorporates many cultures in the novel. Some are rooted in history and geography, such as the Confucian culture of the Celestial Kingdom, built on the edge of old mainland China. Confucian ideology focuses on making sure that every level of society, from family to government, is ordered in such a way that people and groups are more likely to be virtuous and in harmony with each other. Peace, order, and respect for traditions are most conducive to virtue, so these are the central values of Confucianism as Stephenson represents it in the novel.

Dr. X, a Mandarin (high-ranking power) tasked with ordering the Celestial Kingdom, is forced to do so in a world that is both disrupted and ordered by nanotechnology. He is on the one hand the head of the Flea Circus, which gains most of its money from bootleg, black-market activities such as theft of intellectual property or straightforward theft and violence like that practiced by Harv and his gang.