re: #618 Occasional Reader

One entirely anecdotal, personal observation: As one moves up the socioeconomic ladder in Latin America, the cultures become more and more similar. Elites in, say, Brazil and Mexico are pretty similar; poor people in those countries are very different.

Elites everywhere are more exposed to the homogenizing effects of globalization, though I doubt even in centuries past, your observation rang true, albeit to a lesser extent.

Reminds me of that Tolstoy quote:

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.