Cultures Merging

Eric Jones is one of the world's foremost economic historians and in this book he turns his attention to one of the most difficult puzzles of all: how much does culture matter for economic development? Culture often seems to be a constraint on what individuals and societies can do, yet in some circumstances cultures can change at remarkable speed. This book provides an erudite and thought-provoking guide for the culturally perplexed. -- Paul Seabright, University of Toulouse One of the most fascinating and promising developments in thinking about the economy during recent years is the attempt to reintroduce the concept of culture into the analysis. This time around, however, an effort is made to use cultural explanation in such a way that it does not promise too much-but still delivers. Eric L. Jones's new book represents an excellent introduction to this debate. It also contains a wise as well as a suggestive solution for where to draw the line between using culture to explain everything and excluding it totally from the analysis. -- Richard Swedberg, Cornell University A landmark treatment of economics and culture. -- Tyler Cowen, author of "Good and Plenty: The Creative Successes of American Arts Funding" Jones, among the world's leading economic historians, marshals here a lifetime of scholarship to take on the enemies of globalization--especially the cultural relativists who defend as 'traditional' a life of ignorance and patriarchy, material poverty, and female circumcision. The book is beautifully and amusingly written, and Jones is wonderfully wide in his reference, ranging over anthropology, history, economics, social psychology, film, recent journalism, and the history of medieval China. He uses his personal experience, when relevant, which adds to the charm of the book. But the argument is grounded in economics and economic history: culture matters, Jones argues, but it is not eternal; in fact, it is quite changeable, and can be either an economic drag or enabler. -- Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois, Chicago, author of "The Rhetoric of Economics"

Looks at the question of whether culture determines economics or is instead determined by it. This book questions cultural explanations of much social behavior in Europe, East Asia, the United States, Australia, and the Middle East. It also examines contemporary globalization."Economists agree about many things--contrary to popular opinion--but the majority agree about culture only in the sense that they no longer give it much thought." So begins the first chapter of Cultures Merging, in which Eric Jones--one of the world's leading economic historians--takes an eloquent, pointed, and personal look at the question of whether culture determines economics or is instead determined by it. Bringing immense learning and originality to the issue of cultural change over the long-term course of global economic history, Jones questions cultural explanations of much social behavior in Europe, East Asia, the United States, Australia, and the Middle East. He also examines contemporary globalization, arguing that while centuries of economic competition have resulted in the merging of cultures into fewer and larger units, these changes have led to exciting new syntheses. Culture matters to economic outcomes, Jones argues, but cultures in turn never stop responding to market forces, even if some elements of culture stubbornly persist beyond the time when they can be explained by current economic pressures. In the longer run, however, cultures show a fluidity that will astonish some cultural determinists. Jones concludes that culture's "ghostly transit through history" is much less powerful than noneconomists often claim, yet it has a greater influence than economists usually admit. The product of a lifetime of reading and thinking on culture and economics, a work of history and an analysis of the contemporary world, Cultures Merging will be essential reading for anyone concerned about the interaction of cultures and markets around the world.