Eventually, de Soto says, those who blame culture in cases where capitalism does not flourish will instead realize the critical importance of political institutions and property law in generating capital. Samuel P. Huntington On October 12, AEI hosted a second book forum examining the success and failure of capitalism. The contributors to Culture Matters generally argue that the movement of a society toward economic development, material well-being, greater social and economic equity, and political democracy is directly related to the prevalent values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying assumptions within that society. While each society varies in the cultural values and attitudes that it transmits from generation to generation, editors Harrison and Huntington note that the societies that are prone to progress have similar characteristics. Culture Matters suggests that people within these successful cultures focus more on the future and feel they have more control over their own destinies.
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The most salient interpretation culture emphasizes the importance of antistatism in the American value system and in the American concept of the nation. Antistatism Antistatism, that is, suspicion of the state, has been a deep-rooted sentiment in American society since before the Revolution, which itself was a revolt against a strong state. In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers laid out a doctrine implying that the state is to be mistrusted. They drew up a constitution that was and is marked by checks and balances to avoid a strong government. The two houses of Congress, the presidency, and the Supreme Court are all filled in different ways and for varying terms of office, and to get things done all have to agree.