Civilization：The West and the Rest

Ifintheyear1411youhadbeenabletocircumnavigatetheglobe,youwouldhavebeenmostimpressedbythedazzlingcivilizationsoftheOrient.TheForbiddenCitywasunderconstructioninMingBeijing;intheNearEast,theOttomanswereclosinginonConstantinople.Bycontrast,Englandwouldhavestruckyouasamiserablebackwaterravagedbyplague,badsanitationandincessantwar.TheotherquarrelsomekingdomsofWesternEurope-Aragon,Castile,France,PortugalandScotland-wouldhaveseemedlittlebetter.Asforfifteenth-centuryNorthAmerica,itwasananarchicwildernesscomparedwiththerealmsoftheAztecsandIncas.TheideathattheWestwouldcometodominatetheRestformostofthenexthalfmillenniumwouldhavestruckyouaswildlyfanciful.Andyetithappened.WhatwasitaboutthecivilizationofWesternEuropethatallowedittotrumptheoutwardlysuperiorempiresoftheOrient?Theanswer,NiallFergusonargues,wasthattheWestdevelopedsix'killerapplications'thattheRestlacked:competition,science,democracy,medicine,consumerismandtheworkethic.ThekeyquestiontodayiswhetherornottheWesthaslostitsmonopolyonthesesixthings.Ifso,Fergusonwarns,wemaybelivingthroughtheendofWesternascendancy.Civilizationtakesreadersontheirownextraordinaryjourneyaroundtheworld-fromtheGrandCanalatNanjingtotheTopkapiPalaceinIstanbul;fromMachuPicchuintheAndestoSharkIsland,Namibia;fromtheproudtowersofPraguetothesecretchurchesofWenzhou.Itisthestoryofsailboats,missiles,landdeeds,vaccines,bluejeansandChineseBibles.Itisthedefiningnarrativeofmodernworldhistory.