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Culture’s long shadow
The “long divergence” also helps to explain some of the Islamist rage against capitalism. Traditional societies of all kinds have been uncomfortable with corporations which, according to Edward Thurlow, an 18th-century British jurist, have “neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned”. But that unhappiness has been particularly marked in the Middle East. Corporations and other capitalist institutions were imported by progressive governments that believed the region faced a choice between Mecca and modernisation. Local businesses—particularly capital-intensive ones such as transport and manufacturing—were dominated by Jews and Christians who were allowed to opt out of Islamic law.
Mr Kuran’s arguments have broad implications for the debate about how to foster economic development. He demonstrates that the West’s long ascendancy was rooted in its ability to develop institutions that combined labour and capital in imaginative new ways. The Protestant work ethic and the scientific revolution no doubt mattered. But they may have mattered less than previously thought. People who want to ensure that economic development puts down deep roots in emerging societies would be well advised to create the institutional environment in which Thurlow’s soulless institutions can flourish.

A. 어휘
rage 분노. Traditional societies 전통사회. corporations 사단법인, 주식회사.
jurist 법학자. condemn 비난하다. institutions 기관.
Mecca 회교의 聖地(성지), 본문에서는 이슬람교를 상징.
capital-intensive 자본집약적인. dominate 지배하다, 主導(주도)하다.
opt 선택하다, 탈락하다. opt out of Islamic law 이슬람법의 지배로부터 벗어나다.
implications 밀접한 관계, 含蓄(함축), 連累(연루).
foster 양육하다, 助長(조장)하다. ascendancy 우세, 지배.
work ethic 근로윤리. puts down deep roots in 뿌리를 깊이 내리다.
would be well ...하는 것이 더 좋을 것이다. soulless 靈魂(영혼)이 없는.