cliffordheathI think a people are formed by their physical environment. In the case of Russia, that is a special kind of brutal. Australia and the USA both have cultures shaped by different kinds of challenges...
The Australian ethos is built on the notion of survival. The American, on conquest...
Ask either one "how's business" and an American will say "it's going to go gangbusters, we're killing the competition". An Australian will say "well, we're still here, aren't we?". And that reflects the challenges of the founders...
The Russian will say "we got screwed again, of course, but we made the buggers suffer deeply for it"
Daryl Manning@cliffordheath Ever read The Fatal Shore on the founding of Australia? Had some interesting reflections on the character of Australian culture, distinct from others. Was useful (or at least interesting) when I moved there to understand how “penal” Aus shaped the its culture.
And while I think culture *is* influenced by geography, I think there are ineffable differences and evolution that make it not so simply deterministic as environment (look at Canada, as a counter example).
@awws I am aware of it but haven't read it. I didn't intend to imply that the natural environment was the only influence, but it shapes the raw material (convicts vs Puritans e.g.)
@cliffordheath Ah, it was the first post in “a people are shaped by their physical environment”… that mislead me as to your thinking then. No wakas. 😊
Cultural evolution is a mystery to be sure, and the “guns, germs, and steel” thesis is equally flawed (ie. caloric surplus and large domesticated animals).
@awws the "how's business" responses are very stark demonstrations, to me. So utterly different and yet so strongly characteristic
@awws the reason this first occurred to me is the observation that the Aboriginal culture is also one of continuity, of survival. Europeans absorbed some of the same, but by an independent path. Environment? I think so.