This is very essentialist, and I'll only point out that, prior to the Renaissance, you could say very similar things about European cultures. In short, history

This is very essentialist, and I'll only point out that, prior to the Renaissance, you could say very similar things about European cultures. In short, history explains, it doesn't justify. And this can be explained even better by a closed oligarchy wanting to stay in power. Edited to add: Modern Western countries have had experiences with autocracy as well. Do you think there's some deep cultural reason Germany went Nazi which sets it apart from France or the UK? How about Spain and Portugal?