What Difference Did the Beginning Make
Abstract
A subject as complex as this is best begun as simply as possible. Would we be as we are with other beginnings? Obviously not. Those countries started as European colonial enterprises that had different beginnings are now Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Cuba, etc. We are as we are largely because of the materials from which our society was initially formed. All were transmuted with time, but despite that the original ingredients would remain in the mixture and influence the long-term results. We are still identifiably similar to our colonial ancestors in our institutional structure and behavior regarding economic life. The colonists, in turn, had transplanted their own laws and practices from England. Intellectual and institutional continuity is thus a reality. It is also interesting and sometimes surprising.
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