Two decades of cultural and economic change in East Asian and Pacific island nations

Determinism

Certain controversies continue to exist within the scholastic arenas, such as nature vs. nurture and, more recently, global warming. Another one of these ongoing debates concerns determinism, or what "determines" or drives a nation to develop in a certain way. Does a society move in a specific direction because of cultural impetus? Or does it evolve, as Marx believed, from an economic standpoint? From the economic determinism side, it is argued that production is the primary motivator for all of social, political and cultural life and even the individual's social consciousness is determined by the economic structure. Allen et al. (2007) surveyed the cultural values of select East Asian and Pacific Island nations in 1982 and then again in 2002 and found, more practically, a combination of these factors at play, with economic determinism appearing to be a stronger motivator.

One of the significant areas of interest in the West has been the sociology of culture and whether or not culture exists by itself relative to the economic structures. This controversy revolves around the Marxist theory that culture falls under the umbrella of economics and is an output of the economic structure. From an extreme, this makes culture to be powerless. Proponents argue that economic determinism is an undisputed historic law. A society's institutions, government, social class structure, religion, family makeup, and even value systems, beliefs and norms are largely driven by economics. In fact, Charles Beard in an Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913), his study of the property holdings of the Founding Fathers, concluded that they "were, with few exceptions, immediately, directly, and personally interested in, and derived economic advantages from, the establishment of the new system," and "the Constitution was essentially an economic document."

On the other hand, in the early 1940's, Leslie White (Service, 1976), coined the term "cultural evolution," arguing that culture was the major vehicle by which humans adapted to their environments. In the 1950's, Julian Steward (1972), promoted the development of "cultural ecology," or specific cultural features can be scientifically determined as closely connected to subsistence and economic activity.

The study by Allen et al. (2007) places a greater emphasis on the economic determinism side, although giving some examples of cultural focus. The authors also refer to research by Hofstede (1988), who has presented statistical evidence in support of the connection between a nation's culture and its economic growth. The Allen and colleagues' research does indicate, however, that it is difficult to completely go to one extreme or another. There are certain countries where culture still appears to be a strong determinant. A middle ground does exit, as with most complex concepts. For example, Yeh and Lawrence (1995) contest that Hofstede's model did not allow for an understanding of the multifaceted interrelationships that connect culture and economic growth. Through their studies of the relationship between economic growth and Confucianism, Yeh and Lawrence concluded that "the findings from these studies do not greatly enhance our understanding of the relationship between culture and economic growth and may actually mislead us."