Towards a historical comparison framework

Abstract

The recently proposed Global Comparison Framework (Lomas, 2023) lays out a rich array of dimensions of flourishing and their determinants on which the nations of the world might be compared. Despite its capaciousness and comprehensiveness, however, the GCF’s reliance on a contemporary snapshot of global diversity still presents scholars engaged in cross-cultural studies of flourishing with a relatively narrow field of inquiry. The GCF’s focus on contemporary indicators is understandable, but the roots of many of the differences among nations today – whether considered in terms of psychological profile, economic development, political and cultural norms, or, ultimately, overall flourishing – frequently lie in the distant and long buried past. This paper provides notes toward a historical supplement for the GCF – a historical comparison framework (HCF) – by sketching a set of indicators which, while no longer operative or at least salient for most of the world today, were at various points highly significant determinants of cultural, technological, or economic change, with effects which are still evident today in cross-cultural differences in flourishing or its determinants. We group these indicators under three broad headings: geography, migration and conquest, and religion.