Civilization: Is the West History?

In 1500, who was the world’s most advanced civilization? Arguably, Ming China. It led the way in technology while the more primitive England still fought its War of the Roses. Yet China’s advances didn’t lead to sustained growth, and its colossal yet inward-looking rule stifled its economy and colonial empire as political division bred competition and growth in Europe. Now, have the tables turned?

1683, a time when domination of the West was within Islam’s grasp. A vast Ottoman army laid siege to Vienna, capital of Europe’s most powerful empire. But the Islamic world was defeated – not by firepower, but brain power. How did it miss the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment? And is the West able to keep its scientific lead over countries now capable of building their own nuclear weapons?

How could two continents so close together be so far apart? There were two revolutions against crown rule in the Americas – but as democracy was born in North America, the South was consigned to centuries of underdevelopment. The continents had much in common – subjugation of indigenous peoples and the use of slavery by European immigrants. So why did one succeed and the other fail?

Modern medicine made it possible to export Western civilization to Africa. So how come Europe’s empires failed to ‘civilize’ the continent? Competing nation states, power and might became essential components of the West’s domination, and eventually brought the 'Dark Continent' home to Europe in 1914. The ensuing world wars endangered the West’s hold on cultural, political and economic dominance.

Why does the world dress like the West? After World War II, the consumer society spread around the globe as the West was resurrected. Led by the Japanese, most of the world has now embraced Western-style shopping and dressing. In fact, only the Muslim world has resisted. Are we seeing the signs of a challenge to the dominance of Western dress codes?

Why has Europe lost faith in itself – but America hasn’t? The work ethic has faded in Europe; Americans, in contrast, have kept the faith. Europeans worry that the biggest threat to Western civilization may be the environmental consequences of Asian growth, while in China there is an explosion of entrepreneurial spirit and Protestantism. Could Europe’s real threat be loss of faith in themselves?