Баева А.А.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF WESTERN SOCIETY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MODERN WORLD POLITICS *
Аннотация:
в данной статье рассматривается трансформация политическикультурного понятия «Запад», его роль в международной политике и влияние на современную политическую ситуацию в мире
Ключевые слова:
США, запад, восток, политика, арабский мир, европоцентризм, войны, международные отношения
Nowadays our world is very west-centered. If we learn history, it is mostly the history of western countries. If we study world literature or culture, we study western culture. That is why we are sure that “the West” is something very important and powerful. That western society makes a huge contribution in development of humanity. But what actually “the West” means? The first association with “the West” is well-developed western countries. USA, Britain, Germany – they are all seem to us the most modern countries, with good economy and living standards. In geo-politics they can dictate their own terms. Precisely these states established world`s organizations like the United Nations or NATO. And they have a huge impact in these organizations. They have the right to interfere in businesses of other countries, to influence the situation inside other states, and change the situation which they do not like. Also a lot of western states have a lot of resources, which help them to feel independent and to control other countries by trade. And we never thought why the things are going this way. Why these countries are so important? This is connected with history and the development of philosophical idea. For a lot of time western society had been established. And at the same time they had been realized their own importance. Europeans were conquering different countries and even continents, inventing new things, discovering the world. All these factors helped them to believe that western civilization is the most powerful civilization. Their progress and success made them feel like they are the center of the world. And even contacts with other civilizations did not dissuade them in their confidence in western civilization. Nowadays world is very complicated and multicultural for hegemony of only one society. The idea of the West is transforming now, because the West is not the main power in the world anymore. Of course, this process is very hard and long, the West will not lean back so easily. And this is very interesting process to observe. Brief History of “the West” In order to answer these questions, we need to look through the history. The western civilization started with the Ancient Greece. Greece culture has become a foundation of the whole European society. The ideas of Aristotle and Socrates were the base for European philosophers, Homer became the classical author and Greek mythology was an inspiration for a lot of great writers. Afterwards was the Roman Empire, which took something from Greece culture and added something new. The culture of the Roman Empire influenced on the formation of the modern western culture even more. It gave future Europeans language and knowledge. As we can see, western society started from a one small country and then expanded. After the fall of the Roman Empire, modern European countries appeared. In the Middle Ages the establishment of the European countries began. Than the Renaissance and the Enlightenment finished this process. This was period when Europeans started to understand who they are and began to explore the world. Europe invaded new lands and expanded their domains. The division of the world had begun. By the time when westerns saw other people and cultures, they already had been sure that western civilization is the main in this world. That is why they often did not cooperate with non-western countries, but try to conquer them. Therefore European countries grabbed colonies and started to exploit their population. Europeans took resources of their colonies in order to develop their own economy. That is understandable because in those days realism was one of the main philosophical ideas. And according to Alan Collin in realism “power plays a central role in enabling states to acquire these capabilities”. But the strange thing is: with the Enlightenment came the idea of liberalism and the understanding of human rights. “…liberalism is associated with: strong support for democracy which is considered vital for the legitimacy of a government; strong support for private property and free enterprise – a market economy – at home and abroad; a belief in open relationships among societies – not only in trade and investment but in flows of information and ideas, people, and culture; strong support for international cooperation such as in international organizations; and a strong commitment to human rights based on the importance of the individual”. But these rights for a long time were only for Europeans. Population of non-western countries was not human beings for them. In world politics western countries were still operating with realism. That is why such things like slavery, two world wars, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were able to become real. Opium wars are a really good example of how Europeans treated eastern civilizations. Before Britons discovered China, it was a thriving country. Chinese invented paper, compass, typography, gunpowder and many other things. They did not need Europeans. But Britain started to trade with China, because British did not have such goods and at the moment could not produce them on their own. After some time they understood, that such trading was very expensive for them. But they could not abandon these products any more. What they had decided to do? British started a war with rich, but not so well-armed China. In order to win, they hooked Chinese on opium.
Номер журнала Вестник науки №7 (28) том 2
Ссылка для цитирования:
Баева А.А. THE TRANSFORMATION OF WESTERN SOCIETY AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MODERN WORLD POLITICS // Вестник науки №7 (28) том 2. С. 11 - 17. 2020 г. ISSN 2712-8849 // Электронный ресурс: https://www.вестник-науки.рф/article/3422 (дата обращения: 19.04.2024 г.)
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