Essay on the Relationship Between Culture and Development

This essay examines the intricate relationship between culture and economic development, drawing on the perspectives of various authors. It explores how cultural factors, leadership, and globalization influence a nation's progress, contrasting the views of Harrison and Mead with those of Ashvin and Akomolafe. The essay highlights the importance of cultural values in fostering economic success, analyzing the impact of external influences and the challenges faced by developing nations. It concludes by emphasizing the need for cultural awareness in driving positive change and achieving sustainable development. The essay also touches upon the role of donor countries and the potential pitfalls of aid, advocating for a deeper understanding of cultural dynamics in the context of global economic trends.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT
Student’s Name
Subject
Date

Last name: 1
PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT
Introduction
The relationship between culture and development as explained by Lawrence Harrison
and Lawrence Mead is the necessary path for the penetration into the market where globalization
is taking place. The rate, at which the countries transform in their culture, reduces the primacy
that America had initially. Both authors explain the importance of culture in the development
where success and culture must coexist. The implications that the two authors put across is
evidential in power and regime1. The cases where the powerful countries such as Britain were
colonizing the other countries are because they were the richest. With time, Germany overtook
them after they became stronger than Britain.
Harrison and Mead
The general understanding of the causes of underdevelopment from the authors comes
from the mismatch between culture, leadership and development. The fundamental cause of
backwardness in the stated countries such as African nations and the Asian is because of lack of
so many things that trace their origin to the culture2. Most of them who fail in development ask
1 Lawrence Harrison (2000), Culture Matters, The National Interest, Summer
2000https://search-proquest-com.proxy.lnu.se/docview/218386319?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid
%3Aprimo
2 Lawrence M. Mead (2015), The Primacy Contest: Why Culture Matters, Society, December
2015, Volume 52, Issue 6, pp 527–
532,https://link-springer-com.proxy.lnu.se/article/10.1007/s12115-015-9943-x

2
questions such as “who did this to us” or “what did we do wrong?” Although there are so many
other factors that affect the success of the development, culture proves to be coherent of all the
rest. The balances between the other factors such as the geographical, climate, policies, and
leadership, globalization and history vagaries are there to support the already working culture to
achieve the targets3.
Ashvin and Akomolafe
Ashvin and Akomolafe from their articles blame the leadership and the poor state that the
country is. The aid that they seek from the foreign countries is turning out to be more
disadvantageous than expected. The funding is coming with the intention of taking other
resources in exchange, from the reduced state, and this makes it even worst for the receiving
countries4. The donor countries do manipulate the poor by making their countries become
dumping sites after taking their valuable resources. The debt that the countries owe the donors is
then used as a trap to tap the resources and so on. The nations that are poor, therefore, should
consider the funding as one of the greatest threats in their economic development.
Comparison and Contrast
The two pairs of authors differ from the way they analyze the situations that happen
within various states. The developmental stages in the global trends are one of the most targeted
influences the first two authors explain while for Ashvin and Akomolafe, they are looking at the
way in which the developed countries take advantage of the poor. Both pairs are presenting some
3
4 Femi Akomolafe (1994), “What am I doing in
Holland?”http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/30/011.html Accessed on 14 September 2018

3
of the most fundamental issues affecting the growth of the economy in the poor and other nations
in the world5.
Conclusion
The things that they have put across affect the development of the weak states. It means
that they need to change the way things are done in order to realize positive changes. The
society, for example, has neglected the impact of culture on the improvements in all sectors of
the economy and this proves to be the greatest hindrance to the development. Each pair is talking
about the same, culture, but from a different point of view. The perception that the developed
countries have is the one of individualism where there is strong economic and form of
governance.
5 Ashvin Pandurangi (2012), who applies the classic article of Vandana Shiva to today’s world,
in his article ‘Two myths that are keeping the world poor’ available at
http://www.businessinsider.com/two-myths-that-are-keeping-the-world-poor-2012-3?
r=US&IR=T&IR=T Accessed on 14 September 2018

4
Bibliography
Ashvin Pandurangi (2012), who applies the classic article of Vandana Shiva to today’s world, in his
article ‘Two myths that are keeping the world poor’ available at
http://www.businessinsider.com/two-myths-that-are-keeping-the-world-poor-2012-3?
r=US&IR=T&IR=T Accessed on 14 September 2018
Femi Akomolafe (1994), “What am I doing in
Holland?”http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/30/011.html Accessed on 14 September 2018
Lawrence Harrison (2000), Culture Matters, The National Interest, Summer 2000https://search-
proquest-com.proxy.lnu.se/docview/218386319?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo
Accessed on 14 September 2018
Lawrence M. Mead (2015), The Primacy Contest: Why Culture Matters, Society, December
2015, Volume 52, Issue 6, pp 527–
532,https://link-springer-com.proxy.lnu.se/article/10.1007/s12115-015-9943-x Accessed on 14
September 2018