Culture Matters: How Values Shape Human Progress 0th Edition

by Lawrence E Harrison (Author), Samuel P Huntington (Author)

66 ratings

ISBN-13: 978-0465031764

ISBN-10: 9780465031764

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Prominent scholars and journalists ponder the question of why, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world is more divided than ever between the rich and the poor, between those living in freedom and those under oppression.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating book." -- Lance Morrow Time

"In exposing the tangle of causality and processes that link culture and economics, these essays put the debate on a constructive path." -- Foreign Affairs

"Offers hope of an important countercurrent to today's received wisdom about poverty and the fate of ethnic minorities." -- Tamar Jacoby Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Lawrence E. Harrison is a senior fellow at the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies and the author of Who Prospers? and The Pan-American Dream.

Samuel P. Huntington is the Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor of Government at Harvard University and the author of The Clash of Civilizations and The Remaking of the World Order.

Product details

ASIN : 0465031765
Publisher : Basic Books; 0 edition (April 5, 2001)
Language : English
Paperback : 384 pages
ISBN-10 : 9780465031764
ISBN-13 : 978-0465031764
Item Weight : 13.1 ounces
Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.96 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #669,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #293 in Encyclopedias (Books)
- #460 in Income Inequality
- #492 in Sociology of Social Theory

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66 ratings

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2 star		3%
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Walter Stechel

Thought-provoking essays of uneven quality

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2013

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This collection of essays resulting from a 2000 (?) symposium at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University is still relevant and well worth reading. It is a healthy antidote against the belief that "appropriate economic policy effectively implemented will produce the same results without reference to culture." (Lawrence Harrison). The authors contend that "culture is the mother; institutions are the children." (Again Lawrence Harrison as an appropriate answer to Acemoglu/Robinson " Why Nations Fail".) Stace Lindsay writes: "...culture shapes individuals' thoughts about risks, reward, and opportunity." But it is difficult to determine causalities. Orlando Patterson therefore points out: " I think culture does make a difference. But it is very hard to determine, what in culture makes the difference..." There is much food for thought and it will not come as a surprise that the quality of the essays varies. I found Richard Shweder's essay particularly interesting. Just two quotes: "I believe that all the good things in life can't be simultaneously maximized. I believe that when it comes to implementing true values there are always trade-offs, which is why there are different traditions of values (i.e., cultures) and why no one cultural tradition has ever been able to honor everything that is good." and "If it should turn out as an empirical generalization that economic growth can be pulled off relying only on the shallow or thin aspects of Western society (e.g., weapons, information technology, Visa cards), then cultures won't converge, even as they get rich. If economic growth is contingent on accepting the deep or thick aspects of Western culture (e.g., individualism, ideals of femininity, egalitarianism, the Bill of Rights), then cultures will not converge and will not develop economically because their sense of identity will supersede their desire for material wealth." Read yourself and form your own opinion - it's worth it!

11 people found this helpful

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Denis Benchimol Minev

GOOD COMPILATION OF OF ARTICLES ON THE INFLUENCE OF CULTURE

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2003

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This book is a very good compilation of article on the role of culture in development. The compilation includes articles by a large number of premier authors on the subject, including the editors, Michael Porter, David Landes, Jeffrey Sachs, Francis Fukuyama, among others.
The articles deal with many different topics, though the common theme is how culture affect the success of a certain aspect of society, such as health, education, institutions, justice, etc. It does focus on blaming certain cultures for lack of success, but rather it tries to understand the themes that allow certain cultures to outperform others. The lessons do not blame a culture, but rather suggests somewhat modest (and often drastic) change that is necessary to permit a well functioning capitalist economy to exist.
As an economist, I found this book extremely useful in demonstrating the "transaction costs" that a culture may impose on a country, hence reducing its opporutnities for growth. In economics, this is usually studied in theory, but this book provides lively examples of how this is truly the case. However, I do believe that this book would be useful for practitioners in other disciplines.

15 people found this helpful

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Diego Zlotogora

Compelling essays

Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2002

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Culture Matters consists on a series of essays written by well-known scientists and journalists from all over the world. Each of them describes the causes of underdevelopment based on many theories, but mainly through sociological explanations, like culture, values and attitudes.
As a Latin American I can say I finally found a book that brings light into such a controversial issue as the failure of our contries. I was particularly impressed by Carlos Montaner's account of the role of the elites in our societies, and how their corrupt practices have destroyed our economies.
The book fortunately goes beyond the common and naif conclussions of the so called anti-imperialists and intellectuals from the left by succeeding in showing the real factors that bring prosperity and progress into communities. It also enriches Weber's work by adding new and interesting aspects that positively contribute to create wealth and welfare for people.
I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in finding explanations for the underachievment of countries instead of blaming "the forces of evil" and economics.

12 people found this helpful

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Abacus

Somewhat overwhelming

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2003

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This is really the detailed paper(s) of a conference of political scientists and sociologists explaining the correlation between progress and certain cultural attributes.
These political scientists papers often debate and contradict each other. This is certainly interesting. But, it is difficult to extract a main theme out of this book.
You also feel that this field is associated with a great deal of political correctness regarding a sensitive issue. So, the language is not always very direct. You often wonder what these political scientists are really saying in between the lines.
One great benefit from this book is that it got me acquainted with the 'World Value Survey.' This is an amazing ongoing analysis of different nations culture regarding different axis such as secular vs religious, level of freedom, level of trust in national institution. The World Value Survey has a website with a bunch of free published paper on many aspects of sociological analysis in the book. In the sense, the World Value Survey website is just as good if not better than the book.

9 people found this helpful

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