Values, Social Organization and Technology Change in the Arab World

Abstract

The historical, cultural–psychological, and institutional facets correlated with the development of science and technology in the Arab world. This chapter discusses the historical dimension, sociopsychological correlates of science development, and the institutional factors. Any discussion of the current status of science and technology in the Arab world must address itself first to the sociohistorical antecedents of social change. In particular, the role of religion assumes a central place in this context. Since the publication of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, researchers of various theoretical persuasions have singled out the dominance of religious institutions as the main impediment to the industrial and technological development of the Arab world. The point of departure for many writers of this genre has been to view the industrial lag in the Arab world in terms of a lack of the Protestant ethic factors that account for the capitalist–industrial development of European societies. Whether such a unidimensional explanation provides a total explanation of Middle Eastern nondevelopment remains to be seen.