Politics, economics and war are all exciting, but culture is often quietly decisive.
— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America
Race may be visible on the surface but culture goes deep. Americans are not a race but the American culture is what has made Americans different from the various races of Europe, Asia and Africa from which Americans are derived. People of the same race will slaughter each other when they come from different cultures.
— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America
War is not the only arena where culture is decisive. A culture pervaded by corruption will keep a country poor, even if it has an abundance of rich natural resources. Youngsters from a culture that puts a high value on education outperform youngsters from a culture that does not, even when they live at the same economic level, in the same neighborhoods and sit side-by-side in the same schools.
— Thomas Sowell; Dismantling America
Cultures do change, however, and - like other changes - these may be for better or for worse. Many of the cultural changes in contemporary America, and in Western civilization in general, have been for the worse.
