The family and the rise of the West

8.7.2021 Peter Kopa

Anthropologist Joseph Henrich, Professor of Human Evolutionary Biology at Harvard, USA, has published a book on the importance of the family in the development of the Western world:  Farrar Strauss and Giroux Publishers, New York 2020, 704 pp.

We think it is good to remember the great historical significance of the heterosexual monogamous family, because it is under attack in the current ‘Kulturkampf’ promoted by ideologies such as ‘cancel culture’, Woke, BLM etc., which have their origin in a rehash of the Marxist principle of class struggle, which seeks to divide society in order to confront its groups against each other, and then install themselves in political command with all kinds of detestable means.

Summary of the scientific conclusions of Prof. J. Henri:

The Catholic Church is a mother and teacher since the 1st century.

Prof. Henri argues that the Catholic Church, with its doctrine, has brought about this historical process of promoting the monogamic family, which has allowed for an unprecedentedly good education of children, providing the Western world with men who have laid the foundations of our culture, prosperity and well-being. Henrich, after a ten-year scientific study, explains the reasons for the great progress of the West under the leadership of WEIRD men (white, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic: this is a technical abbreviation, typically American).

Prof. Henrich states that, thanks to the Church, from the first centuries of our era, the family was consolidated as an autonomous unit that began to exchange knowledge and cooperate with other groups. This gave rise to monasteries and cities with their markets for exchange, not only of products, but also of knowledge and services.

This process triggered a cumulative cultural evolution that was passed on from one generation to the next, creating a kind of ‘collective brain,’ in Henrich’s words, which in turn was open to innovation. The invention of the printing press and the great geographical discoveries have accelerated this process, laying the foundations for subsequent scientific and technological development, which in turn allowed unprecedented welfare, not only in the West, but in the last few centuries it went beyond its geographical limits and lifted – in the last generation – more than a billion people in Asia and Africa out of misery.

His conclusion is that in order to achieve steady progress, individuals must be able to learn from each other – and this also applies to education at all levels – and the more freely one can let one’s thoughts run free, the better. Prof. Henrich in no way affirms a certain superiority of the white race, but rather maintains that the monogamous Christian family, as the cell of society, has created the presuppositions and circumstances for the process of cultural and civilizational progress to crystallize and come to fruition over the course of many centuries.

Comments on the issue:

Doctrine on the dignity of man

Catholic teaching on the family is based on Christian principles that uphold the dignity of man as a free being with a destiny that transcends time and reaches into eternity. This dignity means equality among all men, with inalienable rights and moral values that derive from their freedom. These principles are at the basis of the exercise of political power and democracy. Some consequences:

1. In the western world, political hegemonies, such as the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Spanish Empire and the British Empire, rose and collapsed. Before our era we have the Egyptian Empire, the Persian Empire, and the Arabs. Today the USA is in command, followed by China, Russia and India. The people in the Western Empires, however, were always faithful to Christian principles, and, in addition, the cultural heritage in handwritten or printed documents, since Gutenberg, was always saved from the barbarism of war behind the walls of churches and monasteries.
2. The Christian faith was the driving force behind the geographical discoveries, especially from Spain, whose crown declared that the purpose of colonization was to spread the Christian faith and thus strengthen its reign with citizens of the crown itself. For this reason, the Indians in Spanish America were free people who could not be enslaved.
3. Science has lately demonstrated in many ways, that a stable family is a necessary condition for the education of people psychically, not only healthy, but maximally resistant to the bad influences of today’s environment. Moreover, they have, statistically, the best results in school education at all levels.
4. The current attack against the family from aggressive ideologies such as Woke, cancel culture, BLM, genderism etc. could have disastrous consequences all over the world, especially in the West. However, sensible people have developed great inner defenses, which not only challenge these ideologies, but also become stronger in their traditional convictions. One should always keep in mind that evil and lies make a lot of noise and fuss, to attract attention, while truth and goodness quietly offer the joy of being in the good and in the truth.