Why the West is morally superior
Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 10:02 pm
The West may not be militarily or economically superior to say China, Saudi Arabia etc. It may be, but it may well turn out that China becomes the world largest superpower, unfortunately.
But I will argue why The West (Western Europe+US/Canada+Australia and maybe even countries in Asia/Middle East under Western protection, like Japan, South Korea, Israel but excluding Saudi Arabia, even though they are protected by U.S. but they certainly do not share Western values).
It has all to do with the understanding of basic human rights. Not that I'm saying they're not imposing Death Penalty (they do execute a lot in South Korea, Japan and U.S.) or that none of them have censorship (media censorship is tough in Australia, France and Germany amongst other countries).
It has to do with the degree of human rights (freedom of speech, the seperation of state - judicial, governing and executive, and the right to political representation ie. the right to vote) is of a much higher level in The West or countries influenced by Western Ideal, than in any other part of the world.
China has always had a history of surveillance and mass-executions and heavy censorship + Despotism - back to the earliest Dynasties.
So has Russia with its Tsars, and the entire Middle East with all its sultans, despot kings etc.
From the Ancient Europe (Greece, Rome) very few rulers possessed absolute power. Caesar did, but he was assassinated.
The same fate happened to a lot of other despots in Europe. We never shared the same "need" for despotism in Europe, like they did/do in China, and this is what makes The West morally superior to the Chinese.
Religious freedom has also been very much thought of since Ancient Rome. Even in the Middle Ages, but in the late-middle ages, Cathars and other Heretics were burned at the stake, and the Protestant Reformation gave us the Witch-burnings and the Baroque through to the 19th century despotism in many European countries and the Slave-era from the 1500s-1860s. Those were dark chapters in our history, like Holocaust in 1930-1945.
China and the Middle East has had not one or two or three, maybe four dark chapters of its history. It had one - but it lasted throughout its entire history from Ancient through pre-modern to Modern which continues to this day.
Generally speaking, the West is simply put a much nicer place to live, than anywhere else on Earth, and its not due to our resources. China has plenty of resources - like Oil, Minerals etc. and plenty of space. The Middle East was the Fertile Crescent and to this day, it has a lot of oil.
It has to do with our MORAL values. U.S. may have Death Penalty, but the U.S. don't kill as many people as they do in China - even if we look at executions pr. capita, China is the leading World Executioner.
U.S. also don't execute people merely for their religious beliefs or speech - it is reserved for murder and treason.
China impose Death Penalty for minor offences as well, even speaking out against the regime.
Any nation under influence from Saudi Arabia, China, Syria, Russia or any other despot state, is a cruel and barbaric place to live in.
You really don't want to live in any Asian country, unless its name is Japan or South Korea. You don't want to live in any other continent unless it is Europe (The Western side), North America or Australia.
And the reasons has nothing to do with our wealth & prosperity. Our Wealth & Prosperity throughout history has all to do with our basic moral values, to never trust a despot, to scatter our people and beliefs and be diverse - together.
However, present day Europe may be the end to this story. Nationalism is becoming really ugly these days. Just look at Orban's Hungary, or Poland, Austria and even the U.S.
Nationalism is making more and more European countries fall into despotism and becoming less European and more... Asian. In every aspect, Hungary and Poland is much more Asian/Middle Eastern in its way of thinking, than France or Germany.
If you don't get rid of Trump, U.S. will fall too - into the hands of the Chinese/Russian sphere of influence. It won't be pretty.
But I will argue why The West (Western Europe+US/Canada+Australia and maybe even countries in Asia/Middle East under Western protection, like Japan, South Korea, Israel but excluding Saudi Arabia, even though they are protected by U.S. but they certainly do not share Western values).
It has all to do with the understanding of basic human rights. Not that I'm saying they're not imposing Death Penalty (they do execute a lot in South Korea, Japan and U.S.) or that none of them have censorship (media censorship is tough in Australia, France and Germany amongst other countries).
It has to do with the degree of human rights (freedom of speech, the seperation of state - judicial, governing and executive, and the right to political representation ie. the right to vote) is of a much higher level in The West or countries influenced by Western Ideal, than in any other part of the world.
China has always had a history of surveillance and mass-executions and heavy censorship + Despotism - back to the earliest Dynasties.
So has Russia with its Tsars, and the entire Middle East with all its sultans, despot kings etc.
From the Ancient Europe (Greece, Rome) very few rulers possessed absolute power. Caesar did, but he was assassinated.
The same fate happened to a lot of other despots in Europe. We never shared the same "need" for despotism in Europe, like they did/do in China, and this is what makes The West morally superior to the Chinese.
Religious freedom has also been very much thought of since Ancient Rome. Even in the Middle Ages, but in the late-middle ages, Cathars and other Heretics were burned at the stake, and the Protestant Reformation gave us the Witch-burnings and the Baroque through to the 19th century despotism in many European countries and the Slave-era from the 1500s-1860s. Those were dark chapters in our history, like Holocaust in 1930-1945.
China and the Middle East has had not one or two or three, maybe four dark chapters of its history. It had one - but it lasted throughout its entire history from Ancient through pre-modern to Modern which continues to this day.
Generally speaking, the West is simply put a much nicer place to live, than anywhere else on Earth, and its not due to our resources. China has plenty of resources - like Oil, Minerals etc. and plenty of space. The Middle East was the Fertile Crescent and to this day, it has a lot of oil.
It has to do with our MORAL values. U.S. may have Death Penalty, but the U.S. don't kill as many people as they do in China - even if we look at executions pr. capita, China is the leading World Executioner.
U.S. also don't execute people merely for their religious beliefs or speech - it is reserved for murder and treason.
China impose Death Penalty for minor offences as well, even speaking out against the regime.
Any nation under influence from Saudi Arabia, China, Syria, Russia or any other despot state, is a cruel and barbaric place to live in.
You really don't want to live in any Asian country, unless its name is Japan or South Korea. You don't want to live in any other continent unless it is Europe (The Western side), North America or Australia.
And the reasons has nothing to do with our wealth & prosperity. Our Wealth & Prosperity throughout history has all to do with our basic moral values, to never trust a despot, to scatter our people and beliefs and be diverse - together.
However, present day Europe may be the end to this story. Nationalism is becoming really ugly these days. Just look at Orban's Hungary, or Poland, Austria and even the U.S.
Nationalism is making more and more European countries fall into despotism and becoming less European and more... Asian. In every aspect, Hungary and Poland is much more Asian/Middle Eastern in its way of thinking, than France or Germany.
If you don't get rid of Trump, U.S. will fall too - into the hands of the Chinese/Russian sphere of influence. It won't be pretty.