Jews, Confucians, and Protestants

Cultural Capital and the End of Multiculturalism

By (author) Lawrence E. Harrison

Publication date:

13 December 2012

Length of book:

230 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781442219632

Multiculturalism—the belief that no culture is better or worse than any other; it is merely different—has come to dominate Western intellectual thought and to serve as a guide to domestic and foreign policy and development aid. But what if multiculturalism itself is flawed? What if some cultures are more prone to progress than others and more successful at creating the cultural capital that encourages democratic governance, social justice for all, and the elimination of poverty? In Jews, Confucians, and Protestants: Cultural Capital and the End of Multiculturalism, Lawrence E. Harrison takes the politically incorrect stand that all cultures are not created equal. Analyzing the performance of 117 countries, grouped by predominant religion, Harrison argues for the superiority of those cultures that emphasize Jewish, Confucian, and Protestant values. A concluding chapter outlines ways in which cultural change may substantially transform societies within a generation.

Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Cultural Capital Defined
Chapter 2: Why Jews, Confucians, and Protestants?
Chapter 3: Jews
Chapter 4: Confucians
Chapter 5: Protestants
Chapter 6: Other High Achievers I: Basques and Sikhs
Chapter 7: Other High Achievers II: Mormons and Ismailis
Chapter 8: Catholic Latin America
Chapter 9: Latino Immigration into the United States
Chapter 10: African Americans
Chapter 11: What to Do

Sailing into stiff headwinds, Harrison challenges the belief—foundational to multiculturalism—that all cultures are equally valuable. Some cultures, he argues, simply are better than others at fostering economic growth, democratic governance, and social justice. It is, he asserts, a culture of education, frugality, and intracommunity trust that makes Jews financial titans. Likewise, a culture of learning and personal moderation empowers Confucian entrepreneurs in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. And it is a culture of hard work coupled to personal responsibility that elevates Protestants to top positions in global business. Other cultures—tradition-bound Catholicism, fatalistic Islam, and irrational Voodoo—come in for censure as obstacles to progress. Likewise labeled as barriers to advancement are contemporary cultural patterns among African Americans and Latino immigrants. Clearly separating himself from conservatives, Harrison outlines a progressive agenda based on deliberate cultural engineering. Still, in trying to test this agenda, Harrison’s Cultural Change Institute has encountered considerable resistance. That resistance persists in sharp debates sure to bring readers, both partisans and critics, to this book.