The Central Liberal Truth: How Politics Can Change a Culture and Save It from Itself

by Lawrence E. Harrison

Which cultural values, beliefs, and attitudes best promote democracy, social justice, and prosperity? How can we use the forces that shape cultural change, such as religion, child-rearing practices, education, and political leadership, to promote these values in the Third World--and for
underachieving minorities in the First World? In this book, Lawrence E. Harrison offers intriguing answers to these questions, in a valuable follow-up to his acclaimed Culture Matters .
Drawing on a three-year research project that explored the cultural values of dozens of nations--from Botswana, Sweden, and India to China, Egypt, and Chile--Harrison offers a provocative look at values around the globe, revealing how each nation's culture has propelled or retarded their
political and economic progress. The book presents 25 factors that operate very differently in cultures prone to progress and those that resist it, including one's influence over destiny, the importance attached to education, the extent to which people identify with and trust others, and the role of
women in society. Harrison pulls no punches, and many of his findings will be controversial. He argues, for example, that Protestantism, Confucianism, and Judaism have been more successful in promoting progress than Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam.
Harrison rejects the Bush administration's doctrine that "the values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society." Thus nations like Iraq and Afghanistan--where illiteracy, particularly among women, and mistrust are high and traditions of cooperation and compromise are
scant--are likely to resist democracy.
Most important, the book outlines a series of practical guidelines that developing nations and lagging minority groups can use to enhance their political, social, and economic well-being.
Contradicting the arguments of multiculturalists, this book contends that when it comes to promoting human progress, some cultures are clearly more effective than others. It convincingly shows which values, beliefs, and attitudes work and how we can foster them.

Genres: Politics, Cultural, International Development, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Lawrence Elliot Harrison (March 11, 1932 - December 9, 2015) was an American scholar known for his work on international development and being former USAID mission director to various Latin American countries. He is the past director of the Cultural Change Institute at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, where he also served as an adjunct lecturer.

Reviews

[Ted Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Culture absolutely matters. What I appreciate about Harrison were the great lengths he went to study culture and to see how culture influences a state's development. A state's historical legacies, the religion of the people living there, societal values, and attitudes are all important. Many development practitioners are afraid to discuss these things because they are controversial. How do I criticize a culture and definitively say something is objectively wrong without sounding like a modern-day imperialist or a racist? It's hard to walk that line, but I think for the most part Harrison raises fair, objective critiques of different things in culture. Where the book disappoints is the lack of time he spends criticizing the problems within Western Protestant Culture and within Confucian East Asian Culture (the two cultures he views the most highly). As a Western Protestant who has spent extensive time living and studying East Asian Culture, I appreciate the praise he gives these two cultures, but I lament that he does not address the major areas of brokenness that exist within these cultures. That would have probably raised my rating to a 5-star review.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't let the title throw you off! The description is more accurate of what the book is about. I loved that this was an academic, and to the best that I could tell, non-biased look at the elements within a culture that not only define it, but which-when changes to culture occurs from within a society- can be used to build a successful framework for real and lasting prosperity and democracy. How do you promote cultural changes from within a society to achieve these goals is the question explored by the author.

[Jill Cordry · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has lived in many countries and diverse cultures, I agree with the premise of this book that some cultural attributes are conducive to progress and others are resistant. I read CULTURE MATTERS several years ago, and this book is an expansion and update.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is less a book arguing a particular point than a collection of poorly pieced together workshop essays coming from a particular angle. That angle, by the way, is that WASP morals/ethics are the best, and that is why history has turned out as it did.