Cultures Merging - A Historical and Economic Critique of Culture (Hardcover)

"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 thehistory 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"