Thick and Thin Cultures

Growing up in America, you don't realize you're soaked in a "thin" culture. Why would you? It feels normal, maybe even universal. Your surroundings make it seem like it's just the way things are. But America, along with a few other places, has a culture that's thin. It's not an insult; many people like it that way. The differences matter. Understanding them is crucial.

What is a Thin Culture?

Think about who Americans are. They're not united by race, genetics, religion, or even a shared history. Most Americans today aren't part of the 18th and 19th-century story. Waves of immigration since then have created a new nation.

What unites America is a shared vision. It’s sometimes hard to pin down, but it's mostly about freedom—of speech, of business, of civil rights, of liberty from the government, of protecting the individual, of democracy. There's a list, but really, it's something you have to buy into.

That means it's a very loose culture. There's a fair amount of distance between us. You only see this once you start speaking another language or immerse yourself in another culture.

Thin culture is like having neighbors instead of roommates. And that's not bad. Having neighbors means less fighting than having roommates. Individuals in thin cultures are generally very nice to each other. But it does lack the depth and dimensionality you find in thicker cultures.

Anyone Can Be American

One of the characteristics of thin culture is that it is easy to become a member of. Take Ronald Reagan's famous farewell speech: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany, or Turkey, or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”

That was true in the 1980s and it is still true today.

But it’s much harder to truly join and be accepted into a thick culture. You’ll always be an outsider in places like Japan (or other places). These places have much more connections between its inhabitants. The same connections thin cultures do not have.

But in places like Canada, Australia, US, or the UK, you can easily assimilate.

Characteristics of Thin and Thick Cultures

Thin cultures are like cities; thick cultures are like towns. Freedom is the difference. In the city, you dress however you want. No one cares. There aren't many shared implicit understandings necessary to hold people together. Thin cultures rely on institutions and economic markers to do the vetting. Move into a new neighborhood, and your neighbor won’t come to check on you. You can afford to live there, which means you’re likely professional class and educated. You’re not a threat. Thin cultures are surprisingly high-trust that way. The system does the job for you.

Thick cultures are like towns they're full of unwritten rules, with everyone judging each other. In thick cultures, people check up on each other. Sometimes it's friendly, but often it's vetting, probing motivations. It can feel suffocating, intrusive. That quaint village with its idyllic life? What you’re not seeing is the locals are busy with personal intrigues, split into factions, gossip, tangled in petty disputes.

There’s always this tradeoff. Which one is better? They both work. Just in their own ways. But also have their weaknesses.

Thin cultures are more business-friendly. Everyone treats each other like an economic agent. The more social distance, the more transactional we are. This prosperity creates stability—as long as it lasts. The freedom to transact and build is central to a thin culture. A place like America wouldn’t handle 75 percent inflation in one year very well. Social collapse would be a real risk.

Even now, you hear complaints about 7 percent inflation which is nothing compared to 75 percent. However, thick culture countries seem to be able to handle more economic issues without collapsing.

In This Newsletter

1) The Sopranos and the Death of Thick Culture in America. The Sopranos is a show essentially about how the Italians in America went from thick culture ethnics to thin culture regular Americans.

2) What Happens When Thick Culture and Thin Culture Collide? America still harbors thick culture groups. They tend to thrive in thin culture countries. Let’s examine the support for Israel, Silicon Valley hiring and

3) The West and Its’ Thin Culture Future? We are seeing nations in the west move from being Thick Culture to Thin Culture countries slowly.

The Sopranos

In America, ethnic groups eventually shed their heritage to fit in.

That is what the show "The Sopranos," really is all about. Beneath its layers of mob drama and family saga lies the real story. The story of assimilation and de-ethnicization of Italian-Americans into mainstream American society. Going from thick culture to thin culture. What happens to most (but not all) groups in America is they just become American and stop being ethnic.

1) Italian traditions. They pop up more as nostalgic nods than daily rituals. Tony's mom, Livia, and Uncle Junior stick to old Italian ways, but Tony and his kids drift far from these roots.

2) Generational differences. Tony's kids, Meadow and AJ, feel little connection to their Italian roots. Their relationships and social circles are diverse, and their aspirations are shaped by contemporary American culture, not ethnic heritage.

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