Breaking dependence on kin relations enables greater economic development

Evidence

Breaking dependence on kin relations opens up the opportunity for much greater economic activity and therefore economic progress—this is roughly Fukuyama’s (1995) argument about the difficulties of economic development in China and the greater success of Japan (as seen shortly before 1995—how fickle the times are). — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 838

Categorization

• QUESTION: Fukuyama’s China-vs-Japan claim predates China’s later boom — worth checking whether the trust-and-development thesis survived.
• XREF: connects to: Movements succeed by exploiting kin-selection psychology through bonding rituals. — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor: Unconditional…, 58