“Without the ability to defend one’s own viewpoint against other more aggressive ideologies then reasonableness and moderation could quite simply disappear. That is why we’ll always need an army.” – Monty Python, The Meaning of Life
Geology is great, but geography is where it’s at.
The ideology of a group can come from many things, including the propaganda that we are all exposed to from a very young age. Another part of it comes from the family structure that we’re surrounded by. A French dude named Emmanual Todd spent a lot of time thinking about this in the 1970s, and decided that the ideology of a country, in part, could be determined by the family structure that the country. I was introduced to Mr. Todd’s ideas by the WhatIfAltHist YouTube® show. I recommend that show.
First, I was intrigued. A French guy named Todd.
Weird.
And who loses when I post an image of Heather Graham? No one.
Second, it felt right. One of the things that people often don’t rate highly enough in the world is genetics. Genetics are very powerful, and influence far more than just hair, skin and eye color or other merely physical attributes. No, from what I’ve seen, genetics very much impacts the basic way related people think. It’s as if family structure, that which literally gives birth to genetic structure, could be a selection mechanism to create and reinforce ideology as well. That would entirely be in line with my observations of both people that I know, as well as the flow of history.
Third, I was interested. What Todd had to say was based on the cultures that he saw in the world in the 1970s, which, due to unceasing hordes of unchecked illegals has now changed. What tensions might conflicting ideologies based on family structures bring to countries being invaded?
But they’re as close to me as steppe-brothers.
Let’s start with the family structure that was the one that came from England and was predominant in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Normandy:
Absolute Nuclear.
- It’s what I grew up thinking a normal family was – the term nuclear family was coined in 1924, and has nothing to do with atom bombs.
- The mother and father met and chose each other for love.
- They lived in their own house.
- Their children were expected to become independent, be responsible for themselves, and their lives, after they grew up, was in their own hands.
- Parents could disinherit kids, and split up the inheritance however.
- God judges individuals.
- Societies are mostly stable, but when internal revolts happen, they are horrific.
This is the most successful culture in history, and has been amazing for freedom. Christianity and individual salvation plus independence and individual outcomes lead to structures where people have incentives to produce, and incentives to be moral.
Why can’t you trust an atom? Because they make up everything.
Many other cultures cannot understand this culture – it appears cold and impersonal, and it values freedom over equality. For this system to work, though, high social trust is required.
Absolute Nuclear is a big chunk of my genetics. But the majority of it is:
Authoritarian.
This is just Todd’s name. If I were to name it, I’d call it the Ancient Honor culture, or something like that. It is a very big part of the culture of the United States, especially from the Southern States. Why?
- This culture is that the Germans, Scandinavians, Czechs, Irish, Scots, Welsh had historically, and it also describes the Koreans, Japanese, and northern Spaniards (where Franco was from).
- Only the oldest son inherits, so the clan follows the eldest.
- What do the other sons do? Warriors or warrior monks so they have something to do.
- The story of the society is one of a lineage that goes back through time. If you worry just a bit too much about your family story (like I might) and care about its honor (like I do) this may describe you.
- The story of the society is one of the lineage of the family, the sense of history, stubbornness, and that everything thrown in front of you makes you stronger. Only the Irish can destroy the Irish, only the Scots can destroy the Scots. Losing makes them tougher.
- Women have significant value, unlike in many other cultures.
- These cultures typically have a large middle class, because if you don’t inherit, you’d best figure something out.
- There is very little oppression in these societies, because individualism is cultivated – people like each other and will fight for their group.
- These people are awful at creating empires – it took the British to unite the Irish since these groups are like a bag of cats. That’s why Japan and Germany and Scotland and Ireland were so hard to unify.
This is a very successful culture, historically, and is the other “big” Western culture. If I come across someone who wants to fight because I accidently took his parking space? Tell me you’re Scots-Irish without telling me you’re Scots-Irish. The tensions between the Authoritarians (South) and Absolute Nuclear (North) led to the Civil War.
I met the Godfather of the Scottish mafia. He made me an offer I couldn’t understand.
This is the rest, and possibly the majority of my genetics, and by far the majority of The Mrs.
Don’t make her mad on a point of honor.
The third culture that’s now impacting the United States is the one from (most of) France, (most of) the Italians, South America, Mexico, and Central America.
Egalitarian Nuclear:
- In this structure, all sons inherit equally. There are several properties I’m aware of where the Spanish father split up the property (five miles by five miles) so his sons could all have access to the river that ran down the middle, so they could water their cattle. Fast forward to today, and there are several properties that are 200 feet wide by five miles long so they can still get access to the river.
- Marriages aren’t arranged and females have huge influence.
- Because everything gets split up into weird chunks, rich people end up buying the odd land and the sons end up with nothing to give for inheritance. This leads to massive wealthy inequality.
- Because the families are equalitarian, they want equity in society, which leads to a series of revolutions because their property always ends up in the hands of the rich.
- Why have most South American countries had a zillion revolutions, constitutions, communist uprisings, while the United States has had the same Constitution?
- Since the daughters get nothing, it leads to an “alpha-male” dictator, but they’re comically bad dictators (think Chavez or Mussolini) that don’t get much done because, equality leads to zero discipline.
When this family structure is a significant minority, it ends up running the country. France. Italy. Most South American countries. Mexico. Why are they this mixed bag of equalitarian nonsense? Because of this social structure. Since often a minority population ends up deciding how the country is run, exactly how many Egalatarian Nuclear people can we let in from South America and still have a country that values freedom over equality?
My humor is a lot like food in Venezuela. Most people don’t get it.
We’ve created new family structures that Monsieur Todd never thought about back in the 1970s, since they were just in the process of becoming. What ideology will they create?
I have enough material for another post on this, so I’ll probably skip economics and do one more on Wednesday on family structure and ideology.
This analysis leaves out a vast swath of Asia family structures. I would try to fill that gap, but it would only reveal my ignorant stereotypes of strict, hard-working parents driving their children to excel in classical music, mathematics, and medicine. Heaven forbid I should do that.
Hahahahaha! Nope, that’s Wednesday’s post!
Brilliant stucky..!
More to come!
I am nodding my head in agreement with your interesting breakdowns by country and culture. But “breakdown” is also the operative word for the new “American” style of family – the single parent one…
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/12/u-s-children-more-likely-than-children-in-other-countries-to-live-with-just-one-parent/
…and the key attribute of single parenting is that it’s not a very supportive family style….
https://www.americansurveycenter.org/the-lonely-childhood-of-generation-z/
So what happens when an imported fertile Egalitarian Nuclear culture meets the depressed offspring of a single parent culture?
And a further thought. Take another look at the world map in that first link above. The US and UK have the highest rate of kids in single parent homes at 23-21% and next comes Russia at 18%. The Russians worry about their Gen Z too, and note that Gen Z Russians are turning to “egalitarian” family types as well.
https://doaj.org/article/d5a2bc9724e54a18a8560e5cf962c0a8
So Russian kids would cheer on their version of Fallon, too. It’s kinda like Buckaroo Banzai said… no matter how many nukes you’ve got, there your kids are.
Except Russians like Russia. Big difference.
Leftists hate themselves.
Mr. Wilder, I did not receive your column in my e-mail today and had to google it to find it. Happy I did, but wonder why I did not get it. Great column as usual, thank you.
I’m surprised Google led you to it. I do know that several domains ban my posts.
Thank you for the kind words! More to come!!!
A French guy named Todd?
Ironically, his German cousin is named Mort.
#tishboom
Ha! Nice.
A very interesting idea! I wonder though how one separates the structural component from the genetic compnent. Being adopted and not really really knowing one while having been gifted the other makes me especially curious about such things.
And OBTW, I thought I was the only geek I know who crawls the WhatIfAltHist space! Huzzah!
Adopted here as well.
And, WhatIfAltHist is awesome.
Family structure in the U.S. and many other western nations moves towards The Village now. The Hillarys rule the families whether men are present or not, same as the old American communes from the Sixties and Seventies. Global Longhouse Village.
The nuclear family, with dad in charge, is fading and it ain’t by accident.
Shhhh, don’t spoil tomorrow’s post!
And, all those old hippy communes are gone.
Something that isn’t heard much in the South anymore (to my knowledge), is when the mother or father of the girl you’re dating during college or in your early 20s (and not from the same town) asks this question….
“Who are your people?”
Today, our area is a horrid mix of God Knows What. NJ, PA, OH, NY, IL et al, tags abound. Tats, horrid dyed hair, crappy clothing are the norm. Oh, I forgot obesity.
Once Uncle Sugar became the “de facto” Daddy, this was bound, and meant to happen.
Same here. Whenever the kids talked about another kid, my questions would be about their parents.
“Women have significant value, unlike in many other cultures.”
The Achilles Heel of this system.
==
If you haven’t already, you might want to look up the ‘Hajnal Line.’ The original is in Europe, this is my attempt to draw such a line for the US:
https://ibb.co/NCqWx0v
==
A few months ago I read a great book called “Empires of the Silk Road.” Fascinating stuff on the steppe culture from the bronze age to today. One of the unifying and defining characteristics of it is what the author called the ‘comitatus.’ Basically, the armed posse of the leader, the retainers, who swore loyalty onto death in exchange for receiving high status gifts on a regular basis. If the leader died, for whatever reason, the retainers committed suicide. Willingly, for honor. Samurai culture is an offshoot of this. There were a couple of written historical records of such retainers willingly doing so, even when they had other options. Just not honorable options.
Some arab ruler acquired such a posse, then in typical desert people fashion decided he wasn’t going to give them the promised high status gifts so as to save a shekel. The posse killed him for the insult. Then killed themselves because their sworn leader was dead.
I read Pumpkin Person a lot when she was still writing regularly. Great person on genetics. I’ve heard the Eleven Nations of North America was good.
Interesting story, honor cultures are very strong.
I really don’t understand many cultures, and your description of how family units differ helps. I do know I have no desire to emulate other cultures, regardless of whether they have some tasty food dishes. They need to stay home, stop meddling with the U.S. and if they want to come here, they need to speak English, forget how they wipe their butts,
…and embrace what we feel is important. (I accidently hit enter.)
But will their ideology allow them to understand what we feel is important?
It’s more than that – and Wednesday’s post completes Mssr. Todd’s picture. But what does our future hold?
Interesting. I’m solidly in this group – Scandanavian, German, English (but mostly Scottish), Irish, and Dutch. What I grew up thinking was the norm may well have been only the norm for My People.
Funnily, the Heritage Americans always want to romanticize the Mediterranean culture, so warm and fuzzy, and so enmeshed with family. There is a reason that the woman who wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding’s marriage didn’t work out – however attractive her non-Greek husband was, his culture would not mesh long-term with hers.
But my German/Dutch/Scottish/English father could marry my Irish/British mother and manage to work out the smaller cultural differences of Protestant and Catholic. Much less of a problem than Irish Catholic and Italian Catholic.
Sounds like our ancestors probably knew each other, since those are exactly the same as me (minus the Dutch).
Hi, I am a middle aged woman who went back to college, and in order to prove a point in a paper I recently had to read that one book Engels wrote on women and the family.
You might want to check it out, maybe you can see where all this feminism today came from. He thought all they had to do was free women from the constricts of love and marriage and their glorious Revolution would just happen. Sheesh.
That said, I also just learned about a Russian thing called a Terem. This was a cloister in the homes of Russian aristocrats for the women, they would hide there to protect their reputations when company came over. I am guessing it went out of fashion around the mid 1800’s, because literature set just after that doesn’t mention Terems.
Anyway, I see that Engels was probably criticizing a much stricter society back then (I’m aware too that he was a German, not a Russian), but those Commies are never satisfied, so now there is no actual safe space for women, and perverted men have to even be allowed in our bathrooms.
If I saw Engels today I’d Terem a new one.
Is next, Eveningwear!
Ohhhhhhhh, 10/10. You got me!