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WEIRD is an acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic: I find this thesis enormously compelling and largely optimistic. I predict tha

WEIRD is an acronym for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic: I find this thesis enormously compelling and largely optimistic. I predict that we -- the West -- are going to WEIRDify the entire world, within the next 50 years, the next two generations. We will do this not by converting non-WEIRD people to WEIRD, but by getting their kids. Their kids, and their kids' kids, are going to grow up on the Internet at least as much as they grow up in the real world, and the pull of WEIRD culture will overwhelm all existing non-WEIRD cultures. I realize this is a very strong claim, but this process is already underway; at this point I think it's inevitable. I think he is about 5 years behind on this. While WEIRD culture has definitely been influential worldwide since ~the collapse of the USSR, I think it has reached its local peak. American culture is increasingly seen as something entertaining or strange, not as an aspirational role model. Democracy is losing its prestige and other nation states are starting to construct their own Great Firewalls to keep WEIRD out. Instead, I think we will see something more akin to the Middle Ages. Distributed authorities and sources of power, each with its own internally developing cultures. There will be connections between them, but not the universalizing homogenization he claims. Just my opinion as an American that has been living abroad for the last ~6 years.

jolux 5y ago
Yeah, this sounds like a very early 90s post-Soviet perspective, i.e. at least 30 years late. I'm a Fukuyamaist when it comes to historical development, but even Fukuyama has argued that the long-term trend towards liberal democracy may be upset by authoritarian backsliding in the short term.
fsloth 5y ago
Could it be you've been interacting with the "parents" generation which supplies the internet for the kids but does not get WEIRDed. Kids soaking in YouTube, gaming - it's creating a geek monoculture. There are backlashes, sure, but I don't know how well they can keep the tide at bay. Anyway as a parent of 11 and 13 year olds this is the vibe I get. They are much more familiar with memes and internet "things" than anything I would call 'traditional' culture in my country (Finland). Of course we are in the west, so not sure what the situation is elsewhere. But it sure looks like getting more WEIRD (I mean rural folk not speaking english creating youtube channels to present their traditions to a global audience - how can you hold it back (unless you are a large authoritarian nation state).
- keiferski 5y ago
  No, I wouldn’t say I’m only interacting with the parents generation. While the kids are definitely “online”, I don’t think this will trend toward them necessarily being more Western or Democratic. Andreessen’s mistake seems similar to the one pundits made about China in the 80s and 90s. “Once they adopt markets and our communications technology, they’ll inevitably think like us.”
  - adim86 5y ago
    I have to agree with you, as someone who lived in the US for 10 years and moved back to my home country, I see the influence of Western culture from TV and the internet, but in my absence the local culture also tweaked itself and started exporting it to neighbouring countries also via the same internet. There will be influence of the West for a while, but I think other countries are using these mediums also to push their own thought simultaneously. I have watched more spanish TV shows via netflix that I ever would if there was only cable (for example)
blast 5y ago
In case anyone else is confused like I was, "WEIRD" here stands for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic.
- keiferski 5y ago
  Sorry, I’ll add it to the comment.
k__ 5y ago
"American culture is increasingly seen as something entertaining or strange, not as an aspirational role model." This is true. But the USA isn't the only WEIRD nation. Other WEIRD nations think of the USA as over its zenith too.
xwolfi 5y ago
It's also a double edged sword - a lot of nationalist discourse, not very democratic, is spreading from America in a confused mess of mixed messages. I live in Hong Kong when up to recently I found people Americanized, at least per my definition (Im French, I dislike Americanization): but since Trump and the protest, it seems this american influence made people more violent, enraged, nationalist and totally counter productive. We were able to compete quite a lot in the world before, but now we have to be tamed by the country because we went too far in the "violent uprising / get freedom with weapon" bullcrap american culture seem to promote here. There's a net negative in following western tactics in asian contexts which I think young people forgot, while elder raise their hands at the sky lamenting the years of compromise, discussion and cross border exchange they patiently built around the city.

jolux 5y ago

Yeah, this sounds like a very early 90s post-Soviet perspective, i.e. at least 30 years late. I'm a Fukuyamaist when it comes to historical development, but even Fukuyama has argued that the long-term trend towards liberal democracy may be upset by authoritarian backsliding in the short term.

fsloth 5y ago

Could it be you've been interacting with the "parents" generation which supplies the internet for the kids but does not get WEIRDed. Kids soaking in YouTube, gaming - it's creating a geek monoculture. There are backlashes, sure, but I don't know how well they can keep the tide at bay. Anyway as a parent of 11 and 13 year olds this is the vibe I get. They are much more familiar with memes and internet "things" than anything I would call 'traditional' culture in my country (Finland). Of course we are in the west, so not sure what the situation is elsewhere. But it sure looks like getting more WEIRD (I mean rural folk not speaking english creating youtube channels to present their traditions to a global audience - how can you hold it back (unless you are a large authoritarian nation state).

keiferski 5y ago
No, I wouldn’t say I’m only interacting with the parents generation. While the kids are definitely “online”, I don’t think this will trend toward them necessarily being more Western or Democratic. Andreessen’s mistake seems similar to the one pundits made about China in the 80s and 90s. “Once they adopt markets and our communications technology, they’ll inevitably think like us.”
- adim86 5y ago
  I have to agree with you, as someone who lived in the US for 10 years and moved back to my home country, I see the influence of Western culture from TV and the internet, but in my absence the local culture also tweaked itself and started exporting it to neighbouring countries also via the same internet. There will be influence of the West for a while, but I think other countries are using these mediums also to push their own thought simultaneously. I have watched more spanish TV shows via netflix that I ever would if there was only cable (for example)

blast 5y ago

In case anyone else is confused like I was, "WEIRD" here stands for Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic.

keiferski 5y ago
Sorry, I’ll add it to the comment.

k__ 5y ago

"American culture is increasingly seen as something entertaining or strange, not as an aspirational role model." This is true. But the USA isn't the only WEIRD nation. Other WEIRD nations think of the USA as over its zenith too.

xwolfi 5y ago

It's also a double edged sword - a lot of nationalist discourse, not very democratic, is spreading from America in a confused mess of mixed messages. I live in Hong Kong when up to recently I found people Americanized, at least per my definition (Im French, I dislike Americanization): but since Trump and the protest, it seems this american influence made people more violent, enraged, nationalist and totally counter productive. We were able to compete quite a lot in the world before, but now we have to be tamed by the country because we went too far in the "violent uprising / get freedom with weapon" bullcrap american culture seem to promote here. There's a net negative in following western tactics in asian contexts which I think young people forgot, while elder raise their hands at the sky lamenting the years of compromise, discussion and cross border exchange they patiently built around the city.