Quote:
Originally Posted by DSeid
Wheat farming allows for more nuclear household smaller stake models while rice paddy farming has to be more of a group effort. .
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I've heard that theory, but I'm very skeptical. There are highly collectivist wheat-growing cultures (Scandinavia, Russia, etc.), and there are individualistic rice growing cultures (Madagascar, for example, where I lived several years. The family group is a much stronger source of loyalty there than the state).
For that matter, aren't the rice-growing Cantonese famous for having a culture of freewheeling entrepreneurialism? As are the Igbo in Nigeria (I don't know if they grow rice, but given the abundant rainfall in their regions I'd be surprised if they didn't). Which seem to complicate the idea that rice cultures are naturally more collectivistic.