America Is No. 1 When It Comes to Self-Inflation

I'm a Mennonite from Kansas.  Kansas has long claimed the title "the Wheat State" and been considered part of the nation's breadbasket.  A big part of that is due to winter wheat, brought to the state by Mennonites immigrating from Russia after they had fled Germany.  Mennonites, on the whole, are more cooperative and humbly community-centric than many subcultures from the U.S. and Europe, though they definitely value self-reliance and individual hard work.

Anyway, I find this article fascinating:

Rice Theory: Why Eastern Cultures Are More Cooperative

 . . . Farming rice paddies requires collaboration with your neighbors, Talhelm tells The Salt. Self-reliance is dangerous.

"Families have to flood and drain their field at the same time," he says. " So there are punishments for being too individualistic. If you flood too early, you would really piss off your neighbors."

Rice paddies also require irrigation systems. "That cost falls on the village, not just one family," he says. "So villages have to figure out a way to coordinate and pay for and maintain this system. It makes people cooperate."

Wheat, on the other hand, as well as barley and corn, doesn't generally require irrigation — or much collaboration. One family alone can plant, grow and harvest a field of wheat, without the help of others.

So wheat farming fosters cultures with more individualism, independence and innovation, Talhelm and his colleagues say. Self-reliance and innovation are rewarded. . . .