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Im a communitarian but its a curious paradox that, historically at least, the countries that were more individualistic, on average, tended towards 
levels of social trust whereas less individualistic countries tended towards 
levels of social trust/clannishness/amoral familism
levels of social trust whereas less individualistic countries tended towards levels of social trust/clannishness/amoral familism
What makes the West ‘WEIRD,’ it seems, stems from the fact that the RC Church banned cousin marriage & basically created the nuclear family as opposed to the extended family.
https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1010177903538200577?s=20 https://twitter.com/moveincircles/status/1303992573023969280?s=20
https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1010177903538200577?s=20 https://twitter.com/moveincircles/status/1303992573023969280?s=20
Banning cousin marriage led to a more individualistic culture - i.e less clannish - which paradoxically facilitated higher levels of social trust - & with it trade, commerce & all the things we associate with the modern world. https://twitter.com/DegenRolf/status/1190688712918814722?s=20
In less individualistic cultures people are more likely to only trust the family & the clan. Thats not conducive to trade, commerce & the development of institutions underpinning liberalism & democracy.
So thats the paradox of the modern world. The route to higher levels of social trust - everything that is good about the modern world is underpinned by higher levels of social trust - has been higher levels (than the rest of the world in any case,) of individualism.
& you can thank the Roman Catholic Church for that. Protestantism may have accelerated many of these changes but they start before Luther & Calvin. In truth, Protestantism is a consequence of these underlying structural causes of change, they are not the cause of them.
Have a read of this if you dont believe me https://science.sciencemag.org/content/366/6466/eaau5141.full
Im pretty sure that this is what this book is about. A must-read Im thinking but not out yet.
The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0848CLB9P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_v0FwFbP38Q47X
The Weirdest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0848CLB9P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_v0FwFbP38Q47X
RC church created the nuclear family & this (as opposed to the clan) created liberalism, individualism & the modern world. These individualistic cultures (relatively speaking) were less distrusting of strangers & this enabled levels of social trust & with it: everything else.
levels of social trust & with it: everything else.
MORAL: family structure is HUGELY important in terms of its ramifications for society as a whole.
Michael Lind’s latest piece in American Affairs is about individualism & familism funnily enough. Albeit he’s arguing for less individualism. https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/08/home-economics-putting-the-family-back-into-the-economy/
