Conquests and Cultures

Reading “Conquests and Cultures” by Thomas Sowell is a fascinating experience. The book relies solely on facts, steering clear of the author’s personal beliefs or notions that might appease popular opinion. It focuses on historical shifts resulting from conquests, discussing regions such as England, Africa, the continental United States, and South America.

What I find particularly intriguing is the book’s demonstration of how, within a relatively short period compared to the entirety of human history, significant changes can occur. From this book, I’ve learned many new things, which can essentially be distilled into two main concepts: human capital and cultural capital.

This highlights many examples where societies that weren’t super advanced could borrow elements from other advanced societies and improve, even surpassing them in certain aspects. Good examples of this are Scotland and Japan. However, there is a fine limit or a restriction when borrowing from advanced societies. By ‘advanced’, I mean principles that help a society experience prosperity in both economy and freedom. The critical factor is the attitude, or the cultural capital. Without the proper attitude, the growth and benefits derived from these good principles cannot be sustainable.

Another fascinating learning from this book is about the concept of freedom. Thomas Sowell does a great job demonstrating that freedom is, in fact, the by-product of a free market, not its cause. He discusses how the management of wealth required authorities to provide a safe space for investment and the preservation of capital, and how this necessitated allowing freedom both in the market and in personal lives. This perspective on freedom was mind-blowing and presented a very fresh way of looking at it.