Suchergebnisse

The more we can understand the meanings people in different cultures attribute to money and property, the more we can help individuals and groups within and across those cultures reduce conflict and pursue constructive communication and interchange. This content analysis of European versus Chinese fairy tales produced 12 dimensions, upon which the authors compare and contrast the two cultures. Sample dimensions include Wealth Lost as Punishment for Evil Deeds, Wealth Gained as Reward for Good Deeds, Wealth as a Sign of Goodness, and Poverty as a Sign of Goodness. The authors find that Chinese fairy tales, more than European, focus on punishment, especially for acting out; European fairy tales, more than Chinese, express ambivalence about wealth; European fairy tales portray poverty as sometimes bad but often good, whereas Chinese fairy tales portray it always as bad. The authors relate their findings to illustrative pieces in the psychological and economic literatures.

This article compares and contrasts the discourses of money and property in India and Great Britain. Whereas the Indian concept of money reflects a polymorphic philosophy, the British approach is dualistic in nature. A comparison of Indian and British texts brings out the extraverted nature of the British versus the introverted nature of the Indians. Whereas the British use an external referential context to define money, the Indians use an internal frame of reference, and while the British dialogue focuses on the good or evil nature of money, the Indian approach concentrates on money as experiential, from the vantage of the user. Although both British and Indian thought focus on the importance of saving money, they differ from one another in the greater British emphasis on accumulation. Both Indian and British approaches to money reflect a positive attitude toward giving.