What is the West?

Introduction

1 Introduction In 1808, the German philosopher, Fichte, felt the need to write his “Addresses to the German Nation.” In 1933, similarly compelled, the French essayist, Julien Benda, wrote an “Address to the European Nation.” Now, again, geopolitical realities seem to require an “Address to the Western Nation.” There is a parallel between these three moments in history. Fichte wrote his lectures as the Napoleonic invasions threatened to overwhelm Germany and crush its very existence. Likewise, Benda published his essay at a moment when the “European civil war,” which had erupted in 1914, was poised to inflame the continent again. Both writers seemed to realize that the “German Nation” and the “European Nation” — two communities on the brink of catastrophe — were intuited, not reasoned notions. Consequently, they understood that a genuine defense of the Nation would require something more tangible in the eyes of its citizens. And so each in his own way 1 attempted to crystallize the ideals and values embodied by the Nation (with very questionable results in Fichte’s case, but that is another story). Undeniably, their efforts forged an awareness of self in their respective communities, which in turn earned both nations a place in the history of political institutions, as the unified Germany of Bismarck and the European Union testify. Standing at the dawn of the twenty-first century, geopolitical turmoil again threatens the principles that are essential to our lives; and still we have not achieved a clear understanding of them. For the past 50 years European construction has progressed with little or no opposition. Now suddenly it gives rise to growing skepticism. Citizens appear confused about the criteria for European enlargement : about how far east, how far south Europe should extend. On both sides of the Atlantic, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and economic globalization provoke different reactions, which give rise to fears of irreconcilable differences between Europe and America. Likewise, cross-border migration approaches levels that threaten to complicate cultural assimilation, as once homogeneous societies become increasingly multicultural . In each of these challenges there is a reality at stake — the “West” — that it is becoming urgent to clarify. What, then, is the West? Does its civilization or culture — this is not the place to discuss the differences — possess a core unity which is deeper than its inner geopolitical divisions? Does it share values and institutions that make it one world which is distinguishable — for the time being at least — from the Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Arab Muslim and African worlds, and even different from the Orthodox East European, Russian, Latin American and Israeli worlds, which some say are closer to it? If it is true that the West shares in common important values and institutions, is 2 What is the West? there enough uniting the various countries that might justify , one way or another, their political union? (It is a given that the European Union and the “American Empire” are well-intentioned but misguided ventures.) And if, in the West, certain values have indeed achieved universality, whose loss or erosion would affect the whole of humanity , would this justify a defense of the West, not only against the threat of military action, but also against communitarian disintegration or cultural metissage? The purpose of my essay is not to provide direct answers to these questions, although I will offer a few thoughts in the conclusion. Instead I will explore the compelling historical and philosophical evidence in order to shed some light on the notion of the West. As a matter of fact, Western civilization may define itself, by approximation in any case, in terms of the constitutional state, democracy, intellectual freedom, critical reason, science, and the liberal economy rooted in the principle of private property. Of course, none of these are “natural.” Each of these values and institutions results from a long process of historical development. In preparing my History of Political Ideas, covering the period from Antiquity to the present, I developed a certain understanding of the core values and institutions of the West.1 On the basis of this earlier enquiry, I believe it is possible to suggest a cultural evolution — a morphogenesis — of the West, despite its complexity, in five historical episodes. These episodes are: (1) the Greek invention of the City, liberty under the rule of law, science, and education; (2) the Roman invention of law, private property, the individual , and humanism; (3) the ethical...