The moral basis of a backward society
by Edward C. Banfield · first published 1958
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One of the best explanations of the issues of Southern Europe, and Italy in specific, that I read about during my studies, can be found in the book “The Moral Basis of a Backward Society” (Banfield). It describes a village in southern Italy in which inhabitants are unwilling to contribute anything that does not immediately and directly benefit their own family. For example, they are unwilling…
on “The IT revolution and southern Europe's two lost decades” ↗Thank you for the link. If you haven't heard of this book, you may find it interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moral_Basis_of_a_Backward_... The Moral Basis of a Backward Society is a book by Edward C. Banfield, an American political scientist who visited ... the ... town of Chiaromonte, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata ... in 1955. He observed a self-interested, family-centric…
on “Is every memecoin just a scam?” ↗On a related note, I'd like to strongly recommend the book "The Moral Basis of a Backward Society" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moral_Basis_of_a_Backward_... From Wikipedia: The Moral Basis of a Backward Society is a book by Edward C. Banfield, a political scientist who visited Montegrano,…
on “Causes and consequences of the Sicilian Mafia” ↗On a bad day I feel that this is a racist track about how Italians are inferior to Jews and the kind of people who work at Harvard and it belongs in the same category as "Moral Basis of a Backward Society". I grew up in New England in a time when it was much more important what kind of black or white you were than if you were black and white and I would say that you'd have the same problem getting into…
on “The Strength of Weak Ties (1973) [pdf]” ↗