Finally, geographic factors are unhelpful for explaining
not only the differences we see across various parts of the
world today but also why many nations such as Japan or
China stagnate for long periods and then start a rapid
growth process. We need another, better theory.
T HE C ULTURE H YPOTHESIS
The second widely accepted theory, the culture hypothesis,
relates prosperity to culture. The culture hypothesis, just like
the geography hypothesis, has a distinguished lineage,
going back at least to the great German sociologist Max
Weber, who argued that the Protestant Reformation and
the Protestant ethic it spurred played a key role in
facilitating the rise of modern industrial society in Western
Europe. The culture hypothesis no longer relies solely on
religion, but stresses other types of beliefs, values, and