https://doi.org/10.70016/ABZD7823
Jews cannot feel completely safe in the Western world even in the 21st century. Therefore, we have decided to publish a paper whose aim is to contribute to combating antisemitism through an economic analysis of Jewish institutions.
The paper titled The Secrets of Jewish Success and Tragedy: Become educated, trade responsibly and move to the city is available for free download as a PDF here.
From antiquity to modern times, the majority of populations have often viewed Jews with suspicion. They were frequently the subject of conspiracies and fabricated plots, which in times of economic and social distress led to accusations, persecution, expulsions, pogroms, and the Holocaust. Two main reasons are behind this.
For nearly two millennia, Jews lived without their own homeland, dispersed in the diaspora across the world, where they always constituted a “foreign minority.”
At the same time, this minority achieved disproportionately high economic and social success. They attained and continue to attain higher levels of education, income, and wealth, and work in profitable sectors, as well as professions requiring high levels of skill.
In our paper, we show that this success can be explained by standard economic factors:
First, Jewish culture places a high value on education and investment in human capital. The Jewish God commands parents to send their children to school and Jews were the first community to implement universal schooling more than 1,500 years ago. As a result, the Jewish minority formed islands of literacy in an illiterate world.
Second, Jewish religious institutions enabled cooperation and trade—even in the absence of public institutions. Thanks to the extensive Talmudic literature, rabbinical courts and religious communities, Jewish merchants managed to secure “law and order” (governance) services across different countries.
Both factors stem from the religious specifics of Judaism. They are not the result of a “deliberate conspiracy” but rather the “unintended consequences” of cultural evolution. At the same time, they offer Jews a strong comparative advantage in markets—especially in urban settings and high-skill occupations. Jewish culture, broadly understood, fit remarkably well into a market society based on contractual relationships and an intense division of labor. Research confirms that the presence of Jews in cities historically boosted economic growth. Various rulers even invited Jews into their estates to promote trade and economic development.
Unfortunately, due to the public’s weak understanding of market economics and the misinterpretation of trade as a zero-sum game, the relative success of Jews on the free market also became the source of their tragedy.
This text aims to explain the historical origins of Jewish success—not through conspiracies or fraud, but through investments in human capital, respect for market institutions and life in urban areas. Understanding the basics of economics is, therefore, an excellent antidote to antisemitism.
Ideally, the public should not approach Jews with suspicion and resentment, but with curiosity and the intent to learn. The result would be a more peaceful and prosperous society.
You can read or download The Secrets of Jewish Success and Tragedy here.
