Culture and economic development: modernisation to globalisation

Thompson, H. (2001) Culture and economic development: modernisation to globalisation. Theory & Science, 2 (2).

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Abstract

Despite constant post-war efforts to decipher the development process, it appears that little practical progress has been made. Many theories have been proposed (some leading directly to policy), but very few developing countries have succeeded in breaking the bonds of underdevelopment. Social theorists from Karl Marx to Daniel Bell have argued that economic development brings pervasive cultural change. Others, from Max Weber to Samuel Huntington, have claimed that cultural values are an enduring and autonomous influence on society. Empirically we find evidence of both massive cultural change and the persistence of distinctive cultural traditions. The relationship of “culture” and “economic development” during the past fifty years can be, and has been, viewed variably as causal, correlative or relatively autonomous.