This collection of essays discusses modernization, democratization, and economic and political reforms in Russia and asserts that these reforms can be accomplished through the reframing of cultural values, attitudes, and institutions.

Part One: Introduction Chapter 1: Introduction to the Moscow Symposium Collection, Lawrence Harrison Chapter 2: Transformation of Countries in Transition: Culture and the State, Evgeny Yasin Part Two: Regional/Civilizational/National Cultures Chapter 3: European Culture: What It Was, Where It Is Going, Josef Joffe Chapter 4: Quo Vadis, Latin America? Four Cultural Obstacles to Economic Development, Oscar Árias Sánchez Chapter 5: Janus in Latin America, Mariano Grondona Chapter 6: How Can African Cultural Capital Prosper?, Daniel Etounga-Manguelle Chapter 7: Cultural Stability and Long Run Economic Performance, Deepak Lal Chapter 8: China’s Quest for a New Cultural Identity from a Confucian Humanistic Perspective, Tu Weiming Chapter 9: Economic and Political Development in Slovenia: Betwixt and Between Europe and the Balkans, Katherine Taylor Part Three: Religions and Development Chapter 10: Contemporary Russian Orthodoxy: From the Social Paradoxes to the Cultural Model, Boris Knorre Chapter 11: Religious Affiliation and Individual Economic and Political Attitudes in Ukraine, Maria Snegovaya Chapter 12: The Cultural Revolution in the Islamic World and What It Means for the Future of Muslim Societies, Pervez Hoodbhoy Chapter 13: “Creation Theology” in Economics: Several Catholic Traditions, Michael Novak Chapter 14: Fight Ethos versus Work Ethos: The Role of the Catholic Church in Fostering Pro-Development Values in Poland, Damian Pyrkosz Chapter 15: Holy Ghost Fire! Pentecostal Religious Culture in Africa, Rachel Okunubi Part Four: Culture’s Influence on Economic Variables Chapter 16: The Role of Culture in Understanding the Process of Economic and Social Change, Douglass North Chapter 17: Culture, Cooperation, and Repeated Games, Eric Maskin Chapter 18: The Effect of Culture on the Functioning of Institutions: Evidence from European Regions, Mariaflavia Harari and Guido Tabellini Chapter 19: Culture and Economic Growth: Getting the Theory Right, William Easterly Chapter 20: An Appraisal of the Cultural Change Institute Factors Typology, Matteo Marini Part Five: Culture, Psychology and Economics Chapter 21: Cultural Values Influence and Constrain Economic and Social Change, Shalom Schwartz Chapter 22: Cognition East and West: Fundamental Differences in Reasoning and Perception, Richard Nisbett Chapter 23: American Culture and the 2008 Financial Crisis, Geert Hofstede Chapter 24: Culture of Horizontality and Personal Autonomy: A Humanistic Approach to Culture Change, Valery Chirkov and Nadezhda Lebedeva Part Six: Measuring Culture and Cultural Change Chapter 25: Measuring Culture and Cultural Change: An Introduction, Ronald Inglehart Chapter 26: Measuring Cultural Capital and Change: Axiological Diagnosis, Miguel Basáñez Chapter 27: Trust and Cultural Change in Argentina: A Latin American Comparison, Marita Carballo Part Seven: The Russian Case Chapter 28: The Economic Wonder: Market and Culture, Oleg Chirkunov Chapter 29: “All Are Guilty, Which Means That Nobody Is!”--Continuing the Talk on Progress in Russian Culture, Andrei Konchalovsky Chapter 30: Basic Human Values of the Russians: Different from and Similar to Other Europeans, Vladimir Magun and Maksim Rudnev Chapter 31: Socio-Cultural Modernization in Russia: Norms and Values System Shift, Natalya Tikhonova Part Eight: Promoting Progressive Cultural Change Chapter 32: The Role of the Family in the Acquisition of Values, Jerome Kagan Chapter 33: Can Teachers Empower Youth for Democratic Citizenship? Evaluating Civic Education Pedagogies in Mexican Secondary Schools, Fernando Reimers, Maria Elena Ortega, Mariali Cardenas, Armando Estrada, and Emanuel Garza Chapter 34: The Me to Everyone Cable, Reese Schonfeld with Erica Shusas Chapter 35: New Occasions Teach New Duties: Social Change and Leadership, Richard Lamm Chapter 36: Economic Policy and Cultural Change, James Fox Chapter 37: Culture and Legal Dogmatism in an Era of Immaterial Wealth: The Case of Latin America, Octavio Sánchez Chapter 38: A Culture of Profitability, Robert Kleinbaum

This is a superb compendium for anyone wanting to understand the vital role cultural values play in the achievements and failures of any tribe, society, or nation. Only Lawrence Harrison could have brought together thirty-nine of the world’s preeminent experts in human culture to present their work at this historic Moscow Conference. Thanks to Harrison, these are all now captured in this book. Among presenters, Russia’s former Minister of Economic Development, Eygeny Yasin, now Academic Supervisor at the Higher School of Economics, led a group of eight prominent Russians. Their excellent papers (chapters in the book) cover: the role of the Orthodox church; the status of Russia’s market economy; Russians’ views on work; entrepreneurship; private property; security; stability; and other cultural values important in that country—and in all the others as well.