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Niall Ferguson, Civilization: The West and the Rest. Penguin, 2011.
Ricardo Duchesne, The Uniqueness of Western Civilization. Brill, 2011.
Robert Kagan, The World America Made. Knopf, 2012.
Ian Morris, Why the West Rules - For Now. Strauss and Giroux - Farrar, 2010
During the last years there has been a growing interest in civilizational issues, and no fewer than three large volumes have been published on civilizations and on the reasons for the rise of the West. Niall Ferguson in his Civilization: The West and the Rest notes that before the rise, European civilization was more of a "backwater" divided into small competing kingdoms. In comparison Chinese civilization was strong and prospering. The threat of the Ottomans in Eastern Europe was a matter of survival for Western civilization.
In the 19th century things were different. Chinese civilization was in stagnation and the Ottomans were no longer a threat to Europe. Turkey had become the "sick man" of Europe. Europe was prospering and able to project its power in all corners of the earth. European settlers were moving in large numbers into North and South America and other parts of the world. In the world-encompassing British Empire, India was the "jewel in the crown."
There were six main reasons for the rise of the West, according to Ferguson:
1. Competition. Decentralization made nation-states and capitalism possible. It was the intense rivalries between Western powers that gave them the edge over nonEuropeans, whose realms were vast and stagnant.
2. The growth of science, which gave the West a way of understanding and conquering nature. One of the most important parts was a leap in military technology.
3. Property rights defined by law. This led to stable governance that furthered growth.
4. Western medicine, which was good for productivity and extended life expectancy. Improving health also meant that Europeans could cope with colonial climes.
5. A consumer society, which in turn fueled demand and economic growth.
6. Possibly the most important was work ethic. This held together society and helped keep society together when the other five could have led to fragmentation. The work ethic to a great degree depended on the rise of Protestantism (Max Weber).
Ferguson, being an economic historian, forgets much of the roots...