I’ve been reading an interesting book recently about the United States and the Panic of 1907 which I will review in a future column. My reading habits are about as nerdy as you can get, and right now I am immersed in reading books on economic history. Unfortunately, the vast majority of literature on economic history pertains to the United States and Western Europe, at least the literature that is in English is concerned with this area. There’s little in the way of information on countries outside these areas except for this title.
I read books on economic history in part to be able to make analytical comparisons between historical events and what is currently occurring. It’s something economists do for a living, and it really is all we have to go on for reference. Because there isn’t much in the way of data on developing countries’ economic history, we have to draw upon the development economic experience of western countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. By doing this we assume, and I assume as well, that the entire world is on a slow path of development towards first world democracy status. Whether this is accurate is anyone’s guess, but it is the common assumption.
What I find interesting in reading books on economic history is the fact that occasionally the author of the book I’m reading will describe some interesting tidbit about actual life in the past. In the book I’m reading on the 1907 panic in the United States, it was common practice for men and women to not stand in line with each other when waiting for something. Obviously in a time where bank runs were occurring regularly this became an issue. Women were given special lines to wait in, and men would stand in line through the main door of the bank.
You would think in reading this that the United States was an extremely sexually conservative country back then. And it certainly was. If you add in the fact that the United States had a strong temperance movement that a few years later would succeed in banning the sale of alcohol nationwide, you see how any country, even a somewhat liberal one, evolved from a very conservative state.
The history of the United States as a very conservative county is even more interesting to me due to my time living in conservative Muslim countries. I see a lot of a parallels between the sexual conservatism of America 100 years ago and some Muslim countries today. Does that mean that these countries are on a path towards sexual liberalism as the US and Europe are on? Possibly. What I take from all this is that all nations are on parallel paths of progression that may lead to similar ends.
I think you can also take away from this experience that all countries, particularly in the developing world, are only a few short decades apart in terms of development, both social and economic. That may be hard to come terms with in our current economic climate of unhappiness and little growth, but I really remain optimistic about the future and what lies ahead for the world. Even the world’s poorest countries have access to cell phones, television and movies. These in turn spread ideas and merge cultures together. With advances in technology the process of cultures merging speeds up, and acceptance and tolerance grow.
I’m sorry if this post isn’t what you’re used to. I will continue to write on economic and financial topics in the future, but I think an occasional discussion into cultural differences across countries can lighten up the normally droll topic of economics. You may now return to your normally scheduled program…
