In “Letters to the Editor,” The Barnes Review:
Mr. Angel, you and other conservative writers, such as Pat Buchanan and Paul Craig Roberts, have recently lamented the decline of Western civilization.
But none of you, as I recollect, actually defined Western civilization, though it seems to me that before we have a reasonable discussion, we should be clear about what we are talking about.
It is not as easy as it seems. In my intellectual travels, I have encountered at least 11 definitions of Western civilization, based variously on race, tribe, appearance, geography, religion, language, and mixed criteria:
Mesopotamia and Egypt forward through Israel, Greece, and Rome to modern Europe, including Islam. Probably the classic, textbook (standard) definition.
- Same, but not including Islam.
- White peoples.
- Caucasians.
- Northern Europeans (“Aryans”).
- European civilization since the advent of writing. This would include ancient Israel by way of Christ.
- All peoples from the Russian steppes (“Aryans”?) including India, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, perhaps Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
- Same, plus the Middle East and North Africa, including Turks, Arabs, Jews, Berbers, Kurds, Armenians, and many others (very similar to No. 4).
- “Indo-Europeans,” meaning those who speak Indo-European languages, including a few obvious additions.
- Christendom (basically Europe and her colonies since 300 AD).
- Faustian” civilization (Spengler), i.e., Europe since A.D. 1000.
My own choice would be No. 8, but I think most modern Westerners would choose No. 6. So, let us go with that: Europe since writing—maybe 3,000 years, maybe 4,000 (Cretan hieroglyphs).
Having picked a definition, we need a description. What are the salient features of Western civilization? I would list four (and I welcome correction):
- Emphasis on individual rights, including justice and freedom.
- Institutional, organized education, i.e., schools and universities.
- Unending exploration beyond every frontier.
- Christianity.
Some of these points are shared by other civilizations, in particular No. 3, though generally not with the intensity of the West. Christianity is almost an exclusive feature of the West. And how does it stand with these four points?
- The love of individual rights is alive and well, indisputably, although not with the particular emphasis that most conservatives would prefer. But the concept itself, apart from the content, is in full bloom.
- Organized, institutional education is obviously alive and well, though, again, with a content generally anathema to conservatives.
- Exploration remains a dynamic pillar of the West, in all directions.
- As to Christianity, it is an item of faith, an absolute dogma, that the Church is under the protection of the Holy Spirit and can never fail. “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” No one who claims to be Christian can believe otherwise. Some of the morals and practices of today’s “Christians” are a little odd, to say the least, but the Church itself will never fail.
So, where is the problem, where is the decline? I see no death for the West.
Nevertheless, suppose the West does decline. What, then, would take its place? Not one of the current contenders is remotely possible:
- Communism. Not a civilization at all, but rather an agent of Satan bent on destroying anything good, especially Christianity. Not yet dead, by any means, but not a replacement of the West.
- The New World Order. Utterly materialistic and, therefore, incapable of being the basis of any civilization, though, as an ally of communism (which it is), a dangerous force.
- China. Too bogged down with communism and probably too materialistic, fundamentally, to provide an alternative to a spiritually based civilization. But China’s vast material strength deserves attention.
- Islam. Too disorganized to challenge the West seriously. Not even at the national level, let alone at the regional level, are Muslim countries sufficiently cohesive and organized for a purpose greater than simple survival. Objective,
third-party justice is almost non-existent. Despite great potential, Islam is 100 years away from being a factor. But it does have a significant spiritual dimension. - India. With its enormous material, intellectual, and spiritual assets, a serious contender, but its stupefying corruption voids the opportunities. In addition, its position as an alternative boils down to Hinduism versus Christianity. Not a chance.
Where is the threat? And note that the two cultures that might actually challenge the West—India and Islam—are actually part of the West, per my view (No. 8 above).
Although, as a lifelong conservative and a very old-fashioned Catholic, I am revolted by current trends, I remain optimistic.
JAMES BEESON (Via email)
The editor answers:
Thank you for your insightful overview. “Western civilization” is indeed a term that describes the shared history, beliefs, and structures of cultures, either European or those influenced by Europe. When we include the term “influenced by Europe,” however, we are forced to include the entire world.
This is because all the races of the world—Asians and Africans included—have all been “influenced by Europe.” You just have to look at the fact that they all use Western technology, Western clothes, Western cultural references—in fact there is almost nothing which they use every day which did not come from, or originate with, Europeans
This salient fact brings us to the core of the issue: race. The reality is that all European, or “Western” civilization, is exclusively the product of one race.
Call that race the “European,” or “White” race, or whatever you want. This racial basis of civilization is the ultimate definition of “Western civilization.”
Only the European/White race creates “Western civilization,” and no other race can create it. All other races merely copy it.
This racial basis of civilization also means that there is indeed a real and severe threat to the continued existence of Western civilization.
As Europeans/Whites are the only ones who can create that civilization, it stands to reason that if those people disappear, for any reason, then Western civilization will disappear with them.
If one looks at current demographic trends within the present-day European heartlands—North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand—it is very clear that the European/White race in all those regions is under genuine demographic threat.
If the triple threats of mass Third World immigration, declining birth rates, and an aging population, are not halted and reversed, then inevitably, Europeans/Whites will vanish, and their civilization along with them.
Your optimism should therefore be tempered with a healthy dose of racial realism.—Ed.
