Economics alone cannot override culture in reshaping a nation’s identity

Evidence

The case for redefining Australia as an Asian country was grounded on the assumption that economics overrides culture in shaping the destiny of nations. The central impetus was the dynamic growth of East Asian economies, which in turn spurred the rapid expansion of Australian trade with Asia. In 1971 East and Southeast Asia absorbed 39 percent of Australia’s exports and provided 21 percent of Australia’s imports. By 1994 East and Southeast Asia were taking 62 percent of Australia’s exports and providing 41 percent of its imports. In contrast, in 1991 11.8 percent of Australian exports went to the European Community and 10.1 percent to the United States. This deepening economic tie with Asia was reinforced in Australian minds by a belief that the world was moving in the direction of three major economic blocs and that Australia’s place was in the East Asian bloc. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 412

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the trade literature already in the library (Milgrom on trade institutions, Champagne fairs) — here trade depth with a region nonetheless fails to produce identity shift. — connects to: Röpke blamed failed industrialization on missing liberal cultural traditions — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1286