Is West/White the greatest civilizatoin?

People would say China is 21th century superpower, India is tomorrow's star, ......20 years ago, Japanese economy was so powerful that Americans feared it would took over US as sole superpower by 1990; top 10 World Banks in late 1980s were Japanese. Westerners began questioned Japanese way of doing businese as well as fascinating their culture; Hollywood were heavly influenced by Japanese cinemas; 7 Samurais, Star Wars, Bladerunner, etc. But, Japanese economy experienced bubble burst in early 1990s, and todays China is very much like '70s Japan.

But, Westners would say: Japanese (Orientals) are skilled at copying Westners, and there is nothing innovative in their cultures. West ideology and culture, in fact, dominated the world, as well as Japan and China. Japanese maybe know how to make robots, cd-players, car, but those are all the Western inventions.

copy........copy.........copy...........

Some Westeners said:
It seems it is inevitable that in the next century, despite the decline of population in Europe and US, and rise of Padific powers, the Western norms still dominate the globe.  Non-white students will study Western political theory, their free expression of art, music, science, and technology. Women from poor Western nations, Russiaan, Poland, etc, became models in Japan and in Taiwan, but women from Asians became prostitudes; even West change the global beauty perception...........

Please post your views on this.




Edited by Kids

Ya, I know. I still saw some acedemic books argued that gunpowder was invented in Europe independently from China, and they beleived Chinese didnt master the gunpowder.

Westenres fascinated about Greek cultures, and when they looked oriental cutlures, for example, hold a view as "exotic", rather praising about it. After all, they believed it was Greeks gave them everything, despite the fact that the Barbarisns of Hellas and of Romans were their ancestors. It was the ancestors of todays Europeans doom the fate of Roman empire, yet Europeans blamed those Barbarians.

Chinese inventions?

I heard some Westners said that people today would know all the terminogy of engineering and science are either in English or in Greek. Where is Chinese? None.


Edited by Kids

Originally posted by Gubook Janggoon What about the copy copy of the west? Paper Gunpowder printing wheelbarrow The list goes on and on. Wouldn't you say without those innovations, the West's innovations wouldn't have been possible? And look at Western thought, greatly influenced by the Abrahamic religions, which is an Asian thing.

According to Jared Diamond's book Guns, germs and steel Europe made much better use of inventions because of the heavy competition (in war, economics, religion) between the European countries. After China was unified thera was no competition anymore in East-Asia. The Chinese could invent all kind of things, but they didn't feel the urgency to use new things. Everything was fine as it was.
With globalisation the competition is much bigger, there's a much greater need to be innovative. This could mean China is going to be the new superpower.
But then again as a Japanese guy explained me once, in the 1970s the US feared the Japanese industry, in 1980s the US industry adopted and took the best from Japanese management and production techniques, in the 1990s the US economy was stronger again but the Japanese economy had big difficulties to adapt to the new situation; they're too conservative

I guess what I want to say here is that no civilization is truly the greatest.  Each is influenced by many others.  What we have today is a conglomeration of all the acheivements of many different cultures.

Originally posted by Vamun Tianshu Originally posted by Gubook Janggoon I guess what I want to say here is that no civilization is truly the greatest.  Each is influenced by many others.  What we have today is a conglomeration of all the acheivements of many different cultures. You are definiteley right.Without the innovation of ancient and pre-modern innovations in both Europe and Asia,many of the world wouldn't be like this.And you're forgetting,the Americas also had some unique innovations of their own,in which westerners adopted in this country of USA.Especially when you look at Latin America,theire is great Native-American influence.Not only Europe and Asia contributed,but Africa and America also contributed to the many great inventions of today.And had not those great minds be reminded of past mistakes and victories,some of the things we enjoy today wouldn't be here.

.. Well said amigo, well said.

everyone has their time in the sun, the primary impetus of civilization can move from place to place by circumstance but never because a group of people is inheirently better than others.  If humanity survies long enough we are destined to one day see Africa and South America house dominant powersd as well.

It's not only about copying. Even today, you can't make a bullet train or a Submarine even if you know the concept if you don't know entirely how its build.

Japan develloped its bullet train alone but they had need of the USA to build their own fighter.

Korea had need of a partner for the devellopment of the KTX.

And China will also have need of partners, which is why they are so pressing on the EU embargo over China for military equipment.