The WEIRDest People in the World

Henrich is deeply influenced by Jared Diamond the writer of “Guns, Germs, and Steel”. Diamond answers the question of Western dominance by arguing that in the ancient past plants and animals that were of a temperament to be domesticated were more available for some populations than others. What Diamond doesn’t do is speculate about the cultural mechanisms that might have conveyed the early advantages of an abundance of plants and animals in Neolithic times that allow Silicon Valley to be the most productive microchip designers in the world today.

Henrich takes the next step. His writing isn’t near the quality of Diamond. Devices like embedding his message in a derogatory acronym are a distraction. But underneath it all is a powerful, positive, self-aware understanding of things that truly make America, and our modern era, more prosperous than our contemporaries.

Literacy, public trust, rule of law, kindness to strangers, deferred gratification, and differences between shame and guilt cultures are some of the peculiarities that Henrich points to.

Bring your thoughts and join me on April 3rd.