In One Word

You can summarize religions in one word. Christianity is about love. Islam is about submission. Judaism is about the Covenant. Buddhism is about non-attachment. Confucianism is about duty. Daoism is about wuwei (action without intention). Zen is about attention.

It works for nations too. America is about freedom. France is about culture. China is about face. Japan is about perfection.

Great writers own entire concepts. Paul Graham owns startups. Tim Ferris owns lifestyle. Zvi owns betting. Eliezer Yudkowsky owns rationality. Stephen Hawking owns physics. Richard Feynmann owns thinking for yourself. Gandhi owns satyagraha. Martin Luther King Jr owns civil rights. Chuck Palahniuk owns transgression. Bret & Kate McKay own manliness. The 14th Dalai Lama owns happiness. Karen Pryor owns animal training. Barack Obama owns audacity. Isaac Asimov owns science fiction.

Lesser writers operate at the intersection of two ideas. Joel Spolsky is about managing software developers. Brad Warner is about punk Zen. Temple Grandin writes at the intersection of autism and animals.