The Political Economy of Arab Cultural Underdevelopment

Abstract

Lawrence E. Harrison pins the blame forArab-Islamic underdevelopment on a set of cultural dysfunctions. Among those that interest me are “submissive collectivism rather than individualism” and the hostility to ‘innovation,’ ‘change,’ and ‘dissent’; “isolationism” not just toward non-Muslims but even internally, placing an “emphasis on family, clan and ethnic cohesion rather than broader relationships”; and “clerical interpretations ... that have ... transmitted fatalistic dogma, ... permitted adoption of scientific and technological advances from outside but closed the door to the liberalizing cultural forces that made these advances possible.”1 Well, the Saudis do “believe that oil was a gift from Allah ... It was a reward for their devout belief ... Ever thankful, they see no reason to deny the teachings of theKoran.”As for importing western know-howwithout the values that come with it, the Saudis also believe that “God has given them oil wealth which is to be translated into money as a means by which they can modernize. But one should never interfere with the other”2 – as if one can buy a television set without the manual that tells you how to use it ...