Thread by @shrikanth_krish

There is a tendency in our times to view any disparity in outcomes through the prism of "discrimination". If X underachieves vis-a-vis Y, the kneejerk tendency is to think X has been discriminated against

(Contd.)

But the reality is Culture matters. And it is culture and not necessarily "discrimination" that impacts outcomes.

Cultural capital is real. And no two cultures are alike

The great mission of "modernity" and "Globalization" is to decimate "cultural diversity" and make cultural capital as irrelevant as possible, so that everyone starts on an even footing.

This is a desparate and largely futile exercise notwithstanding its partial success

A study of history reveals that there is hardly any human endeavor where excellence was achieved by all groups to the same extent.

Different cultures have their unique genius, which finds its way against all odds.

Thomas Sowell's book "Migrations and Cultures" as well as several other works in his ouevre drive home the importance of cultural capital like no other

Let's examine the past with the help of Sowell, and in the process appreciate the primacy of "Culture" in driving outcomes

Let's start with the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. A country where Germans were a small minority. Yet Germans were dominant thanks to their superior cultural capital, notwithstanding the prejudice against them

In the 1880s, about 40% of Russian Army's high command was German, as were 57% of Russian foreign ministry.

This is in light of the fact that they constituted 1% of the Russian empire's population

In the Austrian Empire, the literacy rate in Bohemia (modern Czech territory) was 97% in 1900. But only 27% in Dalmatia (modern Croatia) - though both were part of the same empire, and not that far

Bohemian per-capita income was 3 times that of Dalmatia in 1900

In Nigeria in 1926, only 10% of the children attending secondary school were from the northern part of the country which was home to over 50% of the overall population

In early 1800s, over half the newspapers in Alexandria in Egypt were owned by Syrians.

In the Russian empire of 18th century, Armenians owned 209 of the 250 cotton cloth factories in the province of Astrakhan in Southern Russia (which is a thousand kms from Armenia)

In the 1990s, over 80% of the doughnut shops in California were owned by people of Cambodian ancestry

From the 15th to the 17th century, most of the gunners aboard Portugese warships were Flemish or German.

In the 20th century, over 50% of pilots in Malaysian airforce were Chinese

In 1952, there were more than twice as many African traders as Indian traders in Uganda. Yet Indian traders did 3 times as much business as the Africans

By the late 1930s, more than half the physicians in New York City were Jewish, and 2/3rds of all dentists and lawyers were also Jewish

In 1909 Argentina, about 50% of the brothels in Buenos Aires were run by Jews, and nearly half of the 500 registered prostitutes in the city were Jewish

The Chinese minority conducted 70% of all retail trade in Vietnam and Cambodia in mid 20th century - though accounting for less than 10% of the population.

In Chile, by 1914, there were 456 businesses owned by a Chinese population numbering a few thousands.

In the first decade of the 20th century, 1/4th of all law and medical students in Germany were Jews, though Jes were just 1% of the population.

1/3rd of the graduate students in philosophy were also Jews

In 1905, Jews were 5% of Berlin's population, but they paid 31% of all income tax in the city

The purpose of citing these lop-sided outcomes is to drive home the fact that disparity is not merely a consequence of power-equations or conscious discrimination. Nor does it have to have a basis in Genetics

Eg: Overseas Chinese and Overseas Indians have historically obtained FAR superior outcomes than Chinese in China and Indians in India.

So it is the cultural capital that is at work here. Cultural capital of small outperforming groups.

Even in India, Marwaris in Kerala meet very different outcomes from Marwaris in Marwar

In the British Raj, Brahmins from Tamil country enjoyed greater success in Kerala than Brahmins native to Kerala

Cultural capital carries with it several intangibles, that are hard to replicate across all groups.

The "modern" mind is uncomfortable with cultural capital, and "home schooling".

It wants to level the playing field. Standardize learning curves. The insistence on a "common" syllabus is a case in point.

Yet "Culture" won't go away. Families matter. Habits at home matter.

This is an aspect of reality that is very uneasy for the modern mind, that seeks "egalitarianism" and attempts to equalize achievement.

But this effort remains futile. Leading to angsts in societies.

Globalization is at one level an attempt to deracinate people. So that all cultures are brought down to the same level.

The effort of Globalization is to create a "caste-less" society. A society where everybody eats the same McDonald's burger, every family watches the "Tonight Show", everyone visits Macy's the day after Thanksgiving, everyone takes 2 weeks off during Aug and Dec

To a limited extent this effort has succeeded, but at the cost of eroding cultural capital, and reducing the capacity for genius in small groups

The great project of our times is to create a society of Plebians. It is a work in progress