Capitalism has been criticised for centuries for its single-minded pursuit of self-interest. It is often claimed that pastoral and agrarian societies foster social co-operation and sharing, while industrial societies promote materialism and greed.
But scientists who actually tested these assertions found that people raised in market economies are more trusting and willing to share than those raised in most pre-industrial cultures.
Over two years, 11 anthropologists and an economist conducted experiments in diverse cultures, including three hunting-and-foraging societies, six slash-and-burn agricultural communities, four nomadic-herding groups and two farm villages.
People from these groups played the same economic games that had been extensively tested on college students in developed countries. In an “ultimatum” game, a player divided a sum of money (or cigarettes or other valuable goods) between himself and an anonymous partner, who could accept the division in which case both received that amount or reject it, in which case neither got anything. The results reveal concepts of fairness and the degree of trust.
“Industrialised nations promote a stronger ethic of fairness than do many of the traditional societies,” says anthropologist Joseph Henrich. And, suggests economist Colin Camerer, “The opportunity to trade in economic markets may create social expectations about sharing and trust that exist over and above individual decisions and motivations….”
Source: Bruce Bower, A Fair Share of the Pie, Science News, February 16, 2002.
For more on Culture & Political Systems http://www.ncpa.org/iss/int
FMF Policy Bulletin\23 April 2002
