Blame the Bugs #
April 14th, 2008 | In Worth Considering
Why are people more group-oriented in a place like Japan and more individualistic in the United States? One intriguing theory:
disease-causing microbes. Societies that evolved in places with an abundance of pathogens, they argue, had to adopt behaviors that add up to collectivism, for reasons of sheer preservation. Societies that arose in places with fewer pathogens had the luxury of individualism, which is less effective at limiting the spread of disease but brings with it other social benefits, such as innovation.