Symbolic Violence in "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations"

David Landes's work “The wealth and poverty of nations” is one of the most important texts in political economy studies. In this study, he has explored this issue that why in today's world some countries are rich and others are still in poverty and how to bridge that gap. In this article, with using of “symbolic violence”, a sociological concept belong to Pierre Bourdieu, a critical reading of this work has been done. In this kind of violence that is applied softly and indirectly through cultural mechanisms and educational system, the language, meanings and symbolic order of individuals at the head of power are imposed on the rest of society. This article claims that, "the Wealth and Poverty of Nations" as an educational work, exposes its non-western readers to symbolic violence. Because it speaks with bourgeoisie language and seeks to impose capitalist countries' habitus on other countries. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to reveal this violence.
Introduction:
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations by David S. Landes remains an influential text in political economy and historical studies, addressing why certain nations are wealthy while others remain impoverished. This article offers a critical reading through the sociological lens of symbolic violence, a concept developed by Pierre Bourdieu. Symbolic violence operates subtly through societal norms, education, and media, allowing dominant cultural values to impose upon others without overt force. Here, Landes’s work is scrutinized for implicit symbolic violence, hypothesizing that it subtly perpetuates a Eurocentric worldview and capitalist ideals. The study proposes that the book's portrayal of wealth and development contrasts favorable Western habits with non-Western shortcomings, thereby enacting symbolic violence on non-Western readers.
Materials and Methods:
Using an analytical-descriptive approach, this article examines The Wealth and Poverty of Nations to uncover implicit biases that constitute symbolic violence. Bourdieu’s concepts of social space, field, habitus, and symbolic violence provide a foundation for this critique. Bourdieu's framework offers insight into how culture and educational media maintain societal hierarchies. This theoretical underpinning allows for a thorough analysis of how Landes’s book exemplifies symbolic violence by portraying Western cultural norms as superior, subtly marginalizing non-Western societies. Landes’s assumptions are also compared with contrasting development theories, particularly those incorporating geographical and cultural critiques.
Results and Discussion:
The article reveals that Landes's arguments align with a Eurocentric cultural hypothesis, suggesting Western countries’ prosperity results from ‘good’ habits and qualities, while non-Western societies remain disadvantaged due to ‘inappropriate’ cultural tendencies. Landes attributes the West’s success to a combination of favorable geography, work ethic, technological ingenuity, and cultural values. In contrast, he attributes non-Western poverty to geographical and cultural limitations, with the implicit recommendation that non-Western societies should emulate Western practices to achieve development.

Geography and Cultural Hypotheses: Landes claims the temperate climates of Europe were instrumental to its development, supporting larger livestock and healthier populations, which enabled industrial growth. Non-temperate climates, particularly in Africa and South Asia, are portrayed as intrinsically challenging for industrial progress. This geographical determinism subtly implies that non-Western nations are naturally disadvantaged, reinforcing an implicit hierarchy of civilizations.
Symbolic Violence Through Cultural Assumptions: The book reflects symbolic violence by implying that non-Western readers should internalize Western norms as the ideal path to progress. It positions Western culture as the legitimate framework for development, imposing its symbolic order on other societies. By emphasizing that non-European cultures lack the ‘right’ habits, Landes suggests a hierarchy where Western values must be adopted for advancement. This marginalizes the unique cultural practices of non-Western societies and dismisses historical contexts, such as colonial exploitation, that shaped global wealth disparities.
Neglecting the Role of Imperialism: Landes’s analysis notably downplays the impacts of colonialism and imperialism on non-Western poverty. Contrary to perspectives linking European wealth to colonial extraction, Landes defends imperialism as benign, even beneficial, arguing that former colonies’ post-independence failures reflect internal cultural inadequacies rather than colonial legacies. By excluding exploitative aspects of imperialism, Landes’s narrative subtly validates European domination and minimizes historical injustices.
Education as a Form of Symbolic Violence: Bourdieu’s concept of education as a medium of symbolic violence resonates with Landes’s prescriptions for development, wherein non-Western societies are encouraged to adopt Western standards and abandon indigenous customs. Such educational influence validates Western superiority, rendering non-Western societies subordinate and in need of guidance. This form of symbolic violence compels non-Western readers to perceive their cultures as deficient, internalizing Western norms as universal standards of success.
Contrasting Development Theories: The article briefly reviews counterarguments from development theorists like Acemoglu and Robinson, who emphasize political institutions over culture as determinants of economic disparity. This institutional hypothesis challenges Landes’s Eurocentric views, suggesting that inclusive institutions, rather than geographical or cultural determinism, better explain economic success. By not addressing such perspectives adequately, Landes’s work remains one-sided and reinforces symbolic violence by implicitly excluding non-Western viewpoints from legitimate discourse on development.

Conclusion:
This article demonstrates how The Wealth and Poverty of Nations reflects symbolic violence through a Eurocentric narrative, subtly enforcing Western cultural norms and economic practices as superior models for non-Western societies. By positioning Western values as universally applicable, the book marginalizes alternative cultural frameworks, thereby exerting symbolic violence upon non-Western readers. This critique invites scholars to re-evaluate development narratives that, while ostensibly educational, may perpetuate underlying biases and power dynamics. Acknowledging and addressing symbolic violence in economic discourse is essential for more inclusive and equitable analyses of global wealth disparities.