Thoughts on two somewhat connected books:

The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Free_World/rrziDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_WEIRDest_People_in_the_World/xB2ZDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0