Harvard Professor Joseph Henrich argues that Western democracy and prosperity in America and Europe can be traced back to the Catholic Church's ban on cousin marriages and polygamy - Next Big Idea Club

 

Harvard Professor on Cousin Marriages, Kinship and Democracy in Pakistan
By Riaz Haq
CA

In his recently published book entitled "The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous", Harvard Professor Joseph Henrich argues that Western democracy and prosperity in America and Europe can be traced back to the Catholic Church's ban on cousin marriages and polygamy.

These bans promoted individualism and created what is now known as a "nuclear family". Cousin marriages and strong kinship remain prevalent in present-day Pakistan, according to the author. While the extent of kinship (biradri) networks in Pakistan is much higher than in America and Europe, it is not as high as in Africa and the Middle East. Biradris (kinships) play a powerful role in Pakistan's elections and political patronage networks. These run counter to the precepts of Western-style democracy and national prosperity.

What's WEIRD about the West?
The WEIRD acronym in the title of the book stands for Western Educated Industrialized Rich Democracies. It represents the West's cultural evolution (distinct from biological evolution) over the last few centuries that has produced what the author describes as "Self-focused, individualistic, nonconforming, patient, trusting, analytic, and intention-obsessed capture just a small sampling of the ways in which WEIRD people are psychologically unusual when seen in a global and historical perspective".

Kinship Intensity Index
The extent of kinship in Pakistan is much higher than in America and Europe but not as high as in Africa and the Middle East. Professor Henrich defines what he calls Kinship Intensity Index to capture the strength of kinship in different societies.

The KII combines data about cousin marriage, nuclear families, bilateral inheritance, neo-local residence, and monogamous marriage (vs polygyny) with information on clans and customs about marrying within a certain community (endogamy).

Biradri's Role in Pakistani Elections
Electioneering in Pakistan is rarely about debating issues and offering solutions; it's more about biradaris (kinship networks). Political parties and politicians are rarely judged based on their capabilities, ideas and performance.

The focus is on recruiting "electable" candidates with a known vote bank of their ethnicity and "biradari" (clan).
Pakistan's mainstream political parties continue to rely on the "electables" to win general elections. "Electables" are powerful, resourceful and wealthy, often land-owning individuals from certain biradaris who have a greater chance of winning enough votes to get elected regardless of their party affiliation. Major political parties recruit them to run on their "tickets" as their nominees. Winning more seats in the parliament helps political parties form governments to gain control of the state's resources for the benefit of their leaders and their cronies in their political patronage networks. It is a good investment for the electables to be aligned with the party in power.

The preference for "electables" perpetuates the status quo and preserves the power of the privileged few. It denies the opportunity for new aspiring entrants to bring about any positive change. It depresses new voter turnout and discourages wider participation in the political process.

Kinship (Biradri) in Pakistan
Professor Henrich says that kinship system (biradri), cousin marriages and polygamy remain prevalent in Pakistan. He cites a study showing that cousin marriages were 76% of all marriages for second-generation Pakistani Brits, while in Pakistan comparable rates were under 50%.

To make this point about identities, the author cites a 1972 quote from late Pakistani politician Khan Abdul Wali Khan who said, “I have been a Pashtun for six thousand years, a Muslim for thirteen hundred years, and a Pakistani for twenty-five.” Professor Henrich explains that "what Khan was saying is that his lineage comes well before both Islam and Pakistan. In fact, his dates suggest that his lineage was four to five times more important than his universalizing religion, Islam, and 240 times more important than his country, Pakistan".

Strong Society, Weak State
British Professor Anatol Lieven described Pakistan as "strong society, weak state" in his 2012 book entitled "Pakistan: A Hard Country". Here's an excerpt from his book:

Marriage with members of the same kinship group, and when possible of the same extended family, is explicitly intended to maintain the strength, solidarity and reliability of these groups against dilution by outsiders. (Professor Alison) Shaw writes of the Pakistanis of Oxford that in the year 2000, almost fifty years after they first started arriving in Britain, there had been barely any increase in the proportion of marriages with non-kin, and that over the previous fifteen years 59% of marriages had been with first cousins; and the proportion in strongly Pakistani cities such as Bradford is even higher:

Greater wealth was perceived not solely in terms of individual social mobility, although it provides opportunities for this, but in terms of raising the status of a group of kin relation in their wider biradiri and neighbors in Pakistan . . . Status derives not only from wealth, mainly in terms of property and business, but also from respectability (primarily) expressed by an ashraf (noble) lifestyle. One element of being considered a man worthy of respect derives from having a reputation as being someone who honors his obligations to kin. Cousin marriage is one of the most important expressions of this obligation. The majority of east Oxford families have not achieved social mobility and status through massive accumulation of property and business. For them the marriage of their children to the children of siblings in Pakistan is an important symbol of honor and respectability, a public statement that even families separated by continents recognize their mutual obligations.

Summary: Harvard's Professor Joe Henrich has argued in his recent book that the Catholic Church's ban on cousin marriages and polygamy has spurred democracy and prosperity in the West. The ban has promoted individualism and created the modern nuclear family. This cultural evolution of the West has distinguished it from much of Asia and Africa where kinship remains strong. While the extent of kinship (biradari) networks in Pakistan is much higher than in America and Europe, it is not as high as in Africa and the Middle East. Biradaris (kinships) play a powerful role in Pakistan's elections and political patronage networks. These run counter to the precepts of Western-style democracy and national prosperity.

(Riaz Haq is a Silicon Valley-based Pakistani-American analyst and writer. He blogs at www.riazhaq.com)