Is It Kosher to Talk About Culture

Lien Nguyen                                                                        February 10, 2015

Temin, Peter. June 1997. “Is it Kosher to Talk about Culture.” Journal of Economic History vol 57 (number 2). 267-284

Summary Report

Over the years, economists and historians have attempted to explain economic phenomena in history. In the article “Is it Kosher to Talk about Culture”, economist Peter Temin examined two different cultures: Anglo-Saxon individualism, and Japanese collectivism. In explaining how these two systems were developed, Temin showed us how the Japanese system may possess advantageous edges that allow them to replace America and lead the world economy in the coming years.  

A comparison between American individualist and Japanese collectivist business model would not be understood if the British industrialization is not properly explained. Some historians attributed the cause of industrialization to the development of Protestantism and the legal recognition of private property. Indeed, it is true that Protestants’ core values of hard work, frugality, diligence and perseverance supplied capital and labor to invest in factories and new technology. But here Temin provided an important point in arguing why Britain, not continental Europe – the home of Protestantism, was where the industrialization started. He argued that Protestantism alone was not enough, the British Protestantism or also called the Anglo-Saxon culture was particularly conducive to encourage industrial process. The Anglo-Saxon’s individualism, which promoted individual freedom and achievement, encouraged the innovation of both machinery and organization method. New technology such as the steam engine was developed and applied widely not only in the textile industry, but also to other industries across Britain. At the same time, the British adopted new organization method that intensified the division of labor by organizing them into various specialized activities. Although the new method was more complex, it was essential in increasing labor productivity and economic efficiency. The widespread adoption of these innovations in British manufacturing industry affected every facet of life in Britain, and turned the country from an agricultural economy to the first industrialized economy of the world.

The British successful experience was soon imitated in other parts of the world, but only America was able to take industrialization to a whole new level with the creation of corporation – a distinguished feature of modern capitalization. Temin argued that America shared with its former colonial ruler the Anglo Saxon culture. However, the aspect of individualism was much more prominent in America than in Britain due to its large size and diverse body of immigrants. Lack of repeated interaction with people from the same background made it difficult for Americans to build trusted network, and pushed them to rely on their own strength and will to achieve great things. The expression of this American individualism is their invention of corporation. Corporation is a complex type of organization that helped American exploit their abundant resources efficiently in the 19th century. It provided a framework for mass production in the United States.