If you’re subscribed to this newsletter, you’re almost certainly WEIRD. I’m not trying to insult you. I’m simply observing that you’re likely to be Western, educated, industrialized, rich (compared to other places and times), and democratic (as in the system, not the party). Put it together, and you get the acronym WEIRD.

The man behind the acronym is Joseph Henrich, chair of the department of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University. His latest book is The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous. Sometimes it takes a while for a book’s true significance to sink in for you. As I’ve discussed it over the last several months, I keep drawing out new insights. You’ll get pretty everything you want: theology, history, neuroscience, biology, social science, economics, and more. Everything from the rule of law to individual rights to commercial markets to democracy to religious freedom to the growth of cities fits into his narrative.

Henrich weaves it all together to explain what separated the West from world history. But his story is neither inevitable nor triumphalist. He argues that if you looked at the world in the year 1000, you’d never imagine that Europe would eventually surpass China or the Islamic world in power and wealth. And you can see the pros and cons in what makes the WEIRD distinct:

[W]e WEIRD people are highly individualistic, self-obsessed, control-oriented, nonconformist, and analytical. We focus on ourselves—our attributes, accomplishments, and aspirations—over our relationships and social roles.

And what’s behind it all? The church’s prohibition on cousin marriage, aided by the Protestant emphasis on sola Scriptura. Listen to Henrich explain it all himself on this week’s episode of Gospelbound.