by Daniel Dieppe, The Critic
Universalism is based on irrational ideas about human nature
Let’s say your close friend Geoff ran over an innocent pedestrian with a car, causing a serious injury. You were in the passenger seat and clearly saw Geoff far exceed the 20 miles per hour speed limit. Geoff’s lawyer says that if you lied in court and claimed Geoff was only driving at 20, it would prevent serious legal consequences. What would you do?
If you’re a Westerner, you probably think your friend Geoff has no right for you to give false evidence in court. 90 per cent of people from places like Canada, Switzerland and America agree that Geoff deserves no such testimony, despite your close friendship. Outside the West, however, that feeling declines. The majority of people in Nepal, Venezuela and even South Korea said they would willingly lie under oath to help a close friend in such an ethical dilemma. They would see it, rather than lying, as rightly prioritising friends and family over impartial principles.
This, Joseph Henrich says in his landmark book The Weirdest People in the World, underscores what makes Westerners different — we put strangers above friends, are far more likely to tell the truth, and look down on ideas like nepotism. These views are, from a global perspective, “weird” — most people do not think like us.