Podbit · TED Talks Daily
The Hadza people of Tanzania, hunter-gatherers untouched by capitalist work norms, agree on only two qualities of good character: generosity and hard work. This points to effort moralization as a deep evolutionary instinct, not a cultural quirk.
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At 6:48 · chapter starts 6:10
To stress-test the finding, Shariff's team ran a second study featuring two widget makers who produced identical outputs but differed only in how much effort each expended. Once again, the harder worker was rated as more moral and the preferred cooperation partner — even though he was also seen as less competent. Then the team crossed cultural lines: the result replicated in South Korea, one of the hardest-working OECD nations, and in France, known for rather different attitudes toward labor. Most strikingly, the Hadza people — hunter-gatherers in Tanzania with no connection to capitalism or Protestant tradition — named generosity and hard work as the only two qualities they agreed defined good character. [1] — Azim Shariff "The Hadza people of Tanzania, hunter-gatherers untouched by capitalist work norms, agree on only two qualities of good character: generosit…" 06:48 The evidence mounts that effort moralization is not a cultural quirk but something far more ancient and universal.
Even the Hadza people of Tanzania — hunter-gatherers with no connection to capitalist work culture — agreed that generosity and hard work are the two key qualities of good character.
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