Half-baked comparisons of world ethnic groups and nationalities
pepper this conservative analysis from columnist and Hoover
Institution economist Sowell (Inside American Education, 1993,
etc.). In focusing on race and such issues as migration, conquest,
economics, politics, intelligence tests, slavery, and history,
Sowell claims to reject any grand theory in favor of demonstrating
"the reality, persistence, and consequences of cultural
differences." Sowell emphasizes the notion of "human capital,"
under which rubric he includes a group's "specific skills, general
work habits, saving propensities, attitudes toward education and
entrepreneurship." His argument is at its most intriguing in
examining how culture has been spread through conquest and
migration, and how "middleman minorities" such as Jews, Lebanese,
and Koreans have often been unfairly resented in countries where
they performed essential moneylending functions. However, his
explanation for how human capital developed is contradicted at
times by other examples he offers; e.g., although claiming that the
Japanese culture of innovation, thrift, and conservation was
necessitated by poor natural resources, he also cites a lack of
critical resources (navigable rivers) in Africa but fails to
explain what he considers to be the lack of comparable cultural
development. Sowell's idea of culture is a pinched, narrowly
economic one. Given his laissez-faire stance, it is also not
surprising that he prefers the private sector avenue of advancement
chosen, he says, by Jews, Germans, and Asians to the public sector
route favored by the Irish and blacks. He owes it to the reader,
however, to explain that the latter groups chose the political
route precisely because they were denied opportunity in business.
Moreover, while making the telling point that imperialism provided
colonies with a physical infrastructure, he is silent about what
imperialism took: the colonies' natural resources and political
autonomy. While rightly assailing historical judgments colored by
ideological dogma, Sowell himself is guilty of this failing, albeit
with a conservative rather than a liberal bias. (Kirkus Reviews)
Encompassing more than a decade of research around the globe, this
book shows that cultural capital has far more impact than politics,
prejudice, or genetics on the social and economic fates of
minorities, nations, and civilizations. Multiculturalism and
affirmative action policies are only distractions likely to make
matters worse.
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