Killer Apps from the west: Business World : 18th June

Niall Ferguson follows a holistic concept of 'civilization' in his exploration on the shifting of the axis of economic power and dominance from the East to the West


The word ‘civilization’ conjures images of Kenneth Clark guiding us through historical sights in Europe in the BBC television serial by the same name. But according to Niall Ferguson, civilization should be looked at more broadly to include social, economic and political structures such as art, culture, urban life, living standards, laws, innovations and happiness. This is the theme he develops in his new book Civilization: The West And The Rest.

The author feels that for almost six centuries, before the western world started its dominance, major powers were the Orient (Roman) and Ottoman empires. There was then a sudden shift to the western view of the world which continues to be the dominant architecture today. A question that can be posed is whether or not after the financial crisis older powers like China and India would get resurrected to a prime position?

Curiously, the metamorphosis in civilizations followed patterns that evolved more by way of thinking than consciously by design. Being a historian, Ferguson takes us through 600 years of historical developments. The journey would be of interest to the student, but a bit taxing for the lay reader. While it appears that Ferguson’s six themes are economic in nature — competition, consumerism, science, medicine, property and work ethic — the narrative is a historian’s. This could make the reading hard at times as the author gets too involved in history that may not always be germane to the subject being tackled. But some insights on how the croissant or cappuccino evolved in Turkey are refreshing.

Let us look at these key applications or apps. Competition evolved from the time of spice trade that touched eastern regions. Western powers then began their commercial and military extensions, which brought in the competitive spirit and challenged eastern rulers. Second, the scientific revolution that came along with this dictum was inspired by the Renaissance, Reformation, music, painting and delved further into the realms of philosophy and scientific theories. Rulers such as Frederick the Great of Prussia overtly encouraged such developments, while Islamic empires lagged as they were unwilling to accept these blasphemous tendencies. Related to this application was the development of medicine, which helped increase longevity.

The fourth application, property rights, was the raison d'être for the existence of the state. This was part of the democratic process that worked in North America, but flopped in the southern continent. The protection of this right made capitalism flourish.

The fifth app was consumerism where the culture was to ‘work more, produce more and consume more’. A virtuous circle was thus created that was the hallmark of western societies. This laid the path for the growth of the industrial revolution, which had its origins in England where common law, low wages and the political framework supported it. The emphasis on clothing and the concept of western attire spread across countries including conservative regimes.

Lastly, work ethic was the clincher where Max Weber’s protestant ethic comes in. When religion tells you to work more and spend more, it reinforces the capitalist spirit. But why then did it appear that this system was to collapse? Greed is the answer, as nations such as the US spend more and save less. This is anti-Weber, as the nation now lives on borrowed money, which is not sustainable. The interesting question here is if there will be a reversal of fortunes for the western civilisation. Here, Ferguson blows hot and cold and does not devote too many pages. But he indicates this may not happen. While it is true that China has the ‘app’ of capitalism, Iran has science, Africa medicine and Turks consumerism, these are imports of western civilization and, hence, mere adaptations. They do not have all the six applications. And more importantly, these models are not exactly collapsing in the West even though there could be some deviations. Therefore, it is not doomsday for anyone as subsequent introspection will bring civilisation back on rails. But more importantly, it is still the victory of the western civilisation, whichever way we look at the world.

This book is definitely worth reading though for those with limited proclivities towards history, some of the pages can be skipped without disturbing the overall image.

Civilization: The West and the Rest
By Niall Ferguson
Penguin