I find the following mental model very insightful and predictive. It contrasts two broadly different classes of people and predicts their opinions and ideas about a wide range of different subjects and topics. Of course, I am not proposing that everyone must fit into one category or the other; I myself am at the intersection between these two groups. What this idea does propose is a framework for thinking about broad social, economic, and political trends. I view the Romans as the archetype of the former description, and the Greeks as the archetype of the later description (thus Latin vs. Greek).
Latin
- Rural
- Agricultural
- Militaristic (pro-imperial)
- King David
- Averse to philosophy
- America before 1861
- Thomas Jefferson
- Anti-centralization
- Socially conservative
- Distrust intellectuals & intellectual processes
- …
Greek
- Urban
- Industrial
- Anti-imperial
- King Solomon
- Enjoy philosophy
- America after 1865
- Alexander Hamilton
- Pro-Centralization
- Socially liberal
- Trust intellectuals and intellectual processes
- …
(With more contrasts coming as I can think of them…)
WiseGoverning 