The Wes Cecil Podcast

The Transvaluation of All Values: Can West Africa Save Us? - Ep. 6

4 snips
Jul 2, 2025
Discover how cultural values shape our identity and why questioning them is essential. Explore the contrast between West African communal societies and hierarchical agrarian cultures. Learn about the enduring legacy of African Americans and how their values persist in modern America. Delve into the origins of significant American musical genres rooted in West African traditions. Hear about the impact of the Atlantic and Islamic slave trades on cultural structures and the concept of personal excellence over abstract roles.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
INSIGHT

Values Like A Native Language

  • Our cultural values run so deep they're like a native language we cannot unlearn.
  • Wes Cecil says this depth makes deliberate reevaluation of values extremely difficult.
INSIGHT

Albion Seed Missed A Founding Group

  • Albion Seed maps how settler folkways shaped regional American life across many domains.
  • Wes Cecil notes the book omitted a crucial fifth group: enslaved West Africans.
INSIGHT

Agriculture Built Hierarchy And Abstraction

  • The agricultural revolution created cities by producing surplus food and required hierarchy to manage it.
  • Wes Cecil connects agriculture to long-term institutions like writing, law, and regulated behavior.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app