Joel Mokyr on Clans, Corporations, and a Culture of Growth

The historical divergence between Europe and China stems from fundamentally different modes of social organization. While Europe transitioned toward nuclear families and non-kinship-based "corporations"—such as universities, guilds, and autonomous cities—that facilitated the provision of local public goods, China relied on extended family clans integrated with imperial bureaucracy to prioritize stability. This structural difference, reinforced by the Catholic Church’s influence in the West, fostered a unique environment for the "Industrial Enlightenment." Unlike the Roman and Chinese models, which often lacked a sustained concept of progress or the integration of scientific knowledge into manual labor, European society developed a competitive, market-based system of apprenticeship and innovation. This cultural and institutional shift enabled Europe to achieve technological dominance and sustainable growth, while other civilizations remained focused on traditional, kinship-based social structures that discouraged the pursuit of material improvement.