Guy Sorman's May 1 article, "What exactly is the West," is the most confused piece of writing I ever read, displaying an amazing ignorance of the world and its history that only the French are capable of! Sorman claims the progress made in Europe in the last few centuries, including some progress in the last few decades, reflects the basic character of the "West" and only the "West" throughout history. He does not seem to realize that this progress was based upon contributions from other societies.
Where would we be without the decimal number system, which came from the East? It is from the Arabs that the Europeans learned of innovations, science and mathematics that originated in the East.
It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. So also of innovation. Europeans were forced to move out on sea explorations by the Arab monopoly on trade and sea routes. That, and the rivalry among European nations, started a series of important historical events, leading to the progress that we see today. It also led to two centuries of colonization of the rest of the World, suppressing their progress as well as innovation, which Sorman now claims to be a trait of only the "West."
I would also ask Sorman to distinguish between being "Westernized" and "industrialized." Some societies (such as Japan and South Korea) have become industrialized like the West, but that does not necessarily mean they have become Westernized (whatever that's supposed to mean).
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