Socio-Cultural Determinants of Political-Economic Affairs (Collected Essays)
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Socio-Cultural Determinants of Political-Economic Affairs (Collected Essays) by W B (Ben) Vosloo July 2015 Copyright © 2015 The author All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing of the author. The author, who is still gripped by the limitations of writing in longhand, wishes to express his deep appreciation to his wife, Madalein Irene, for taking good care of the typing, collating and editing of all the essays in this collection. Wollongong, July 2015 About the Author Ben Vosloo was born in the Empangeni district, Natal, 4 November 1934. After completing his schooling in Vryheid, he went to the University of Pretoria where he majored in political science and economics taking the BA and MA degrees with distinction After serving as a teaching and research assistant, he obtained a Ph.D degree in 1965 at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. On his return to South Africa, Dr Vosloo began his long association with the reform process in the fields of constitutional change, educational reform and economic development. He served as Professor of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Stellenbosch for 15 years. He was inter alia member of two direction-setting Commissions: the Erika Theron Commission concerning constitutional reform and the De Lange Commission on educational reform. He published widely in academic and professional publications in the fields of management science, political science and development issues. He held offices as a founding member of a number of academic and professional associations such as the S A Political Science Association, the S A Institute for Public Administration and the S A Institute of International Affairs. During his academic career, Prof. Vosloo received several meritorious scholarships and academic awards. Ben Vosloo started his “second” career in 1981 when he was appointed as the founding Managing Director of the newly formed Small Business Development Corporation. He steered the SBDC to its successful track record and its unique position of prominence as a private sector led development institution (1981 to 1995). In recognition of his work, Dr Vosloo was made Marketing Man of the Year (1986), Man of the Year by the Institute of Management Consultants of Southern Africa (1989), given the Emeritus Citation for Business Leaders by the Argus Newspaper Group (1990) and the Personnel Man of the Year by the Institute of Personnel Managers (1990), named as one of the Business Times Top Five Businessmen (1993) and by “Beeld” as one of South Africa’s Top 21 Business Leaders in the past 21 years (1995). He acted as co-author and editor of a trend-setting publication Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth (HSRC Publishers, Pretoria 1994) and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Pretoria in December 1995. In 1996 Ben Vosloo started his “third” career. He initially served as a business consultant on strategic policy matters and later became involved in export marketing in the USA, Canada, Europe and Asia. He obtained permanent resident status in Australia in the category “Distinguished Talents” and eventually became an Australian citizen in 2002. He is now retired and resides in North Wollongong, NSW. Socio-Cultural Determinants of Political-Economic Affairs (Collected Essays) by W B (Ben) Vosloo ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INDEX Chapter Page Introduction i 1 Key Determinants of Human Affairs 1 2 The Role of Religion 9 3 Footprints of the Abrahamic Religions 30 4 Migration Patterns in the Colonial Era (1400-1940) 45 5 Sub-national Group Formation in International Perspective 59 6 The Rise and Decline of the Anglo-Saxon Model 69 7 The British Economy in the Post-Colonial Era 93 8 The Distinctive Nature of the German Model 108 9 The Colonial Dutch and British Influence in South Africa 127 10 East Asian Modernisation and Confucian Capitalism 160 11 China’s Spectacular Rise as an Emerging Giant 171 12 The Impressive Growth Potential of East Asia 185 i Introduction All intelligent persons are keen to understand the world around them. Why do things turn out the way they do? What are the key determinants in human affairs? How do they spill over into political affairs? Social scientists have developed the nature-nurture theory of human behaviour to explain the great variation in the levels of human achievement. The “nature” aspect refers to the talents, abilities, instincts and other inherent qualities belonging to a person by birth. Under “nurture” is normally understood the non-genetic external influences that educate, train, nourish and support individuals after their birth. Their accomplishments in many spheres of life are determined by the interaction of their innate potential with the opportunities coming their way. A person born with the talent of “perfect pitch” coupled with unfailing eye and hand co-ordination and dexterity will not be able to become a famous pianist without access to a piano instrument to practice on coupled with a good teacher to introduce him or her to the performing arts. Similarly, a country’s economic fortunes are determined by the interaction of human action and natural endowments. The peoples of some countries do not know how to exploit or utilise their natural resources. Others are astute users of their opportunities and still others do remarkably well without natural endowments. Successful education outcomes require willing and able learners as well as good teachers and facilities. Based on systematically collected empirical evidence, the academic disciplines of sociology, psychology and anthropology have unfolded much insight into human behaviour as individuals, as members of society and as members of specific group formations. Together they attempt to explain how and why people act the way they do in association with others. Humans are, as Aristotle noticed, “social animals” – they become human in their association with others. And as an astute American political scientist, Harold Lasswell observed: men act politically as they are socially and culturally. He could have added “psychologically”, “religiously” and “economically”. Most of today’s nation-states came into being since the middle of the seventeenth century. Intergroup conflict along religious, ethnic, language, racial, class or even regional lines or some combination of these, usually played a crucial role. As a result of the migration of people over many centuries, most countries in today’s world have heterogeneous populations. A homogeneous population like the Japanese people is rather exceptional. The critical factor in heterogeneity is the degree of overlap in the population cleavages. When the cleavages overlap substantially, the conflict potential also increases substantially. This happens when sub-national groups confront each other as substantial opponents across the board in all spheres of societal life. When this happens, there is little scope for compromise and adjustment. Community life becomes a battlefield driven by race hatreds, class envy, cultural enmity and religious confrontations. There are numerous examples of sub-national cleavages or cultural differentiators that are so intense that they not only undermine the internal cohesion or stability of a state, but tear its components apart in violent conflict as unbending adversaries. Racial differences, though resting on highly subjective stereotypes, usually create a visible and keen sense of differentiation among people. The key elements that are usually used as a basis for such social differentiation are variation in skin pigmentation, hair colour or consistency and facial characteristics. European Westerners are visibly different in an African, Indian or Chinese environment and vice versa. A sense of racial identity is often enveloped in an elaborate ideological wrapping that drives members of racial groups into opposing camps. Ethnic and language groups normally share a common culture, a ii common ancestry, a shared history and the kinship bonds of their blood relationships. These groupings may overlap with racial characteristics. Religion provides a strong foundation for identity and cultural cohesion. History has proven that Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism or particular sects or rites of these can provide a profound hold upon people’s emotions. Common religion can produce a militant cultural identity which is combined with a profound sense of sacred mission. Coexistence of different religious communities within the same state is particularly difficult where religion regards the sacred and secular realms as inseparable. Throughout history, cleavages internal to major religions such as Christianity and Islam have been of great significance. Protestants and Catholics have been involved in devastating conflicts as have Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims. The Crusades of the Middle Ages are a clear indication that the current “Islamic State” and other militant Islamic movements represent clear and present dangers to the preservation of world peace. Religious conflict is capable of generating an intensity of identification which can override all other issues when it invests conflicts with a heavenly mandate to be pursued as a holy duty. It provides a supernatural imperative and removes the debate from the level of human rationality. There are numerous examples of socio-cultural