Critique of the Culture Hypothesis

Key Insight

The culture hypothesis links prosperity to societal beliefs, values, and ethics, tracing its lineage to Max Weber's theory of the Protestant ethic spurring industrial society. Contemporary arguments suggest African poverty stems from a lack of work ethic or belief in magic, Latin American underdevelopment from 'Iberian' or 'mañana' cultures, or historically, Chinese Confucian values being inimical to growth. While social norms can matter, crucial aspects of culture often emphasized, like religion or national ethics, do not explain global inequalities.

Many supposed cultural differences are outcomes, not causes, of divergent development paths. For example, Mexicans' lower reported trust in surveys, compared to US citizens, is a consequence of their government's inability to provide a functional legal system or control drug cartels, rather than an inherent cultural trait. The Kingdom of Kongo, upon contact with the Portuguese in 1483, adopted guns eagerly for the slave trade but failed to adopt the plow despite encouragement, not due to cultural aversion, but because pervasive expropriation by the king and the threat of enslavement removed any incentives for farmers to invest in long-term productivity or for the king to prioritize agricultural development over the more profitable slave trade.

The hypothesis further falters when examining other cases: Catholic France quickly matched Protestant nations' economic performance, and today's East Asian economic successes are unrelated to Christian religion. In the Middle East, the link between Islamic religion and poverty is spurious; underdevelopment is primarily a legacy of Ottoman and subsequent European colonial rule, which created hierarchical, authoritarian political regimes lacking institutions vital for economic success, as demonstrated by Egypt's brief period of rapid growth under Muhammad Ali when it broke from Ottoman influence. Neither an 'English' nor a broader 'European cultural legacy' explains prosperity, given the vast disparities between former English colonies like Canada and Nigeria, or between Argentina (high European descent) and Japan (few European inhabitants).