Description of Western Civilization - Essay Example

WESTERN CIVILIZATION Table of content page Introduction ………………………………………………………… 2 The rise of sovereignty and the creation of nation states …………… 2 The modern western civilization …………………………………… 4 Has western civilization has come far enough? ……………………. 8 Dealing with violence ……………………………………………… 10 References …………………………………………………………. 11 Introduction Western civilization was a term that was used to describe the culture and economic changes that took place in Europe. This term has been used to describe the various heritages in social norms, ethical values, and change in tradition customs, the rise of various religious beliefs and adoption of new technologies. Western civilization has been described in the western culture that is found in the scientific, political, artistic and the philosophical principles that were adopted by people at that time. This term has been linked to immigration and settlement in Western Europe. This period has been marked by the changing way of life of the people. It was marked by changes in different spheres of life of the people. In particular there was marked rise of industrial systems, education, urbanization and other aspect of life of the western world. The rise of sovereignty and the creation of nation states Among the things that marked the rise of western civilization was the rise in sovereignty of the nations. In this regard there was increased fall of empires and the rise of nations. The Western Roman Empire which ruled the modern states of Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and England for centuries had collapsed as a result of combination of a number of factors. One of such factors was economic decline which had an impact on the decline of the military spending leading to reduced military strength. The empires were based on the military strength and therefore the fall of military might led to invasion by other tribes. The fall of the Western Roman Empire in its military strength led to the invasion by the barbarian tribes which were coming from Scandinavia and other states like Germany. They invaded the Western Roman Empire and led to its eventual fall. This had an effect on other factors like racial, religious, and the political life of these empires. Increased warfare with the invading tribes and economic crisis could have contributed in a great way to the fall. (Hobsbawm, 1992) Therefore with the fall of the empires there was increased rise of the modern sovereign states. The fall of the empire led to the defragmentation to individual states which were sovereign with internal government. The fall of the Western Roman Empire led to the formation of the modern day states of France, Spain, Portugal, England and Italy. Owing to the factors that led to the fall of the empire such as racial, religious and political division, the emerging states were grouped in some aspects of community. It has been shown that racial and ethnic factors were the main leading factors that led to the fall of the empire and the consequential formation of sovereign states which were based on common aspects of these communities. Those who spoke the same language grouped themselves together and formed one sovereign state. For example those who spoke Spanish grouped themselves together to form Spain, while those who spoke French formed the modern day France. This marked the beginning of the rise of sovereign states which were internally governed. In the high middle Ages, feudalism rose to be a dominant social, economic and political system in the western countries. The monarch and the nobles were at the top of the society while the rest of the society was left as peasants and serfs. The serfs were given protection by the monarchs from the invasions of the outsiders. The church also grew strong and had a say in the administration of the states which were growing to be sovereign. The Catholic Church became especially strong at this time and in the medieval period, there was suppression of other religions and the church also had a lot of influences on the political life of the states. In the late middle ages, there was the rise of the renaissance period. There was constant war between France and England which was mainly based on the border conflicts between the two rising states. These states guarded their border with all their military might which showed the need for sovereignty and a great span of control for their rulers. These states later grew to be powerful nations which expanded their empires outside their borders. They started to colonize other nations in and outside Europe as they strived to expand their control. They colonized other nations in other continents. They had grown to be full self governed states. With time the western civilization therefore changed from large empires to national states which had legitimacy of existence and a sovereign entity. They had sovereign territory unit that they controlled. They developed to be state with political and geopolitical entities which had a particular cultural and ethnic identity. But these identities were formed right from the start based on the communities in the people who were under the earlier Western Roman Empire. (Smith, 1996) To the present time these states have retained their national identity as states. But there are new forms of empires that are emerging with references to the economic conditions. There is the new European Union which started as an economic bloc but has been gaining political influence day by day. The EU is rising to be a modern state that is trying to integrate Europe although the individual states are far from losing their identity and sovereignty. The modern western civilization The scope of western civilization is somehow subjective based on the nature of the discussion and depending on whether we are focusing on the culture, economic, or the political life of the people. However there are some similar aspects of the above factors that can be used to describe the modern world of western civilization. From the early civilization that led to the change in the geopolitical boundaries and the rise of the sovereign states, there has been increased democracy as the main form of government of these states, the rise of capitalism economies and the leaning towards international free trade, and the formation of the military and political alliances. The foundation of the modern western civilization can be attributed to the changes that have been taking place in the economic, social and the political life of the people. The western civilization has been founded on the earlier changes that took root on these factors and which continue to shape the future of the civilization. (Merriman, 1996) In the economic factor, the main fall of the earlier Western Roman Empire was the reduction in the economic resources of the empire that made it difficult for it to foster its large military powers. That disintegration of the empires economically meant that each country had to rely on itself on labor and other matters. Therefore there was great reorganization that was taking place in these countries in order to shape their economic status. This led to rise of industrialization that started in England. The age of industrial revolution started in England and very fast it spread to other centuries in Europe including France and Spain. The scientific discoveries that were made in the middle Ages were an important step that helped to shape the economic future of these nations. The discovery of the steam engine was the mother of the industrial revolution since it led to a series of other innovations that helped the industrial growth in Britain. A number of these discoveries enabled the western countries to expand their production capacity and therefore acquired a large segment of the export market in the world. The industry demanded for these nations led to the exploration activities that were meant to search for more raw materials and markets for their production. This led to colonization of many countries in the world by Britain, France and Spain. The economic progression of the nations has been ongoing since but was crippled by their involvement in the first and the Second World War. After the war, they recorded an impressive growth in their economies. Generally western world led by the three states in Europe were the first to embrace the capitalist economy. This helped to transport their economy in a great way. There was increased production of goods and services to meet the need of the growth urban population. Industrial revolution coupled with capitalist economies was an important step in ensuring that these countries were able to develop their economies. Recently these nations have joined the EU which is still considred an important step in the process of their civilization since it has led to rise of economic power of the nations. In the cultural civilization there are many changes that took place in the course of the revolution. The formation of the sovereign states followed the distinct pattern of culture of the people who occupied these nations. But of significant importance are the changes that took place after that. The culture revolution in Britain saw the emergence of a national culture which was based on standardized practices that later emerged to be important factors used to identify these people. The culture revolution in France was a remarkable one in the whole revolution of the culture of these people. The Napoleonic revolution which took the aspect of literature revolution was an important step in the western revolutions as it inspired many literatures that were written. This led to writing of many books at that time that shaped the era of the revolution. There was also the rise of the Spanish culture that led to the emergence of the modern Spanish culture. In general the Cultural Revolution at the time was marked by aspect of art especially in music and other acting arts. There was also a revolution in theatrical arts and literatures that are used up to date. One of the most important aspects of evolution of art at this time was the rise in music and acting. Most of these Cultural Revolution have been sustained up to date. There was a great change in the religion culture of the people. From the control of the Roman Catholic Church, these nations underwent several religious changes. For example in the medieval period, there were efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to wipe out the influence of the heretic groups that had been formed in France. In England there was split from the Roman Catholic Church due to the disagreement of King with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. (Jacques, 2000) However the embracing of the capitalist way of life in the western civilization led to the change of the communal culture that was evident in the early life of the people to a more individual culture. The western society has been moving closer to an individualistic society in which there is less focus on the community needs of the society and life has been centered on the individual persons and the nuclear family. The modern civilization in these nations continues in cultural aspects. The EU has been emphasizing on the need to continue maintaining the cultural changes that started during the western civilization. They have been able to come up with an identified culture that is important in the life of the people. The political environment has also been evaluating with time. From the western empire, there has been the rise of individual states that are sovereign with distinct political identity. This has been an important step in the process of the western civilization. Some countries like England were able to consolidate its powers to include the Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as one nation under the United Kingdoms. The signing of the Act of Union was an important political step that was aimed at ensuring that Wales did not fall under the control of France which was considered as militant at the time the Act of Union was signed. This act of union helped to bring Wales under the control of the British monarch and also with representations in the British parliament. The Act of union was one of the most important steps that helped to shape western civilization in England. Although the act was originally viewed as oppressive to Wales it helped to shape the future politics of the country. The act was however criticized as it did not help to save the Wales population from the effect of the great potato famine that wiped out potatoes which was the main staple crop of the Welish people. But repeal of the act helped to streamline the relationship between the two nations. Although there have been a series of war between France and England on the control of their boarder, both countries have made alliance during the time of the world wars. They have been helping each other when faced by war adversaries. The three nations have been working in close military alliance for the time when they have been faced by war. Under the current political arrangement in the EU, the three nations are again bound by the same political power. They are all under the EU and have been operating under the economic, political and social framework of the EU. Therefore we can say that the process of western civilization has not ended as evidenced by the current political, social and economical changes that have been taking place. Has western civilization has come far enough? Western civilization has been important in the development of the modern society in England, Spain, and France. It has led to the improved life of the people and the creation of the welfare states which embrace each and every member of the society. In general we can say that it has led to the modern severing states which are sovereign with distinct political identity. Therefore we can say that western civilization has come far enough to guarantee the citizens of the nation’s good life. It has led to the development of modern medicine which has assured people of attentive medical care to their problems. It has been instrumental in shaping the life of the population and increased wave of urbanization in these countries. It has led to revolutionized agriculture eliminating problem of shortages and hunger which had ravaged people before the start of the revolution. Western civilization has been instrumental in driving the change that we are seeing in world. It formed the base for the evolution of modern technology and also for the development of the modern society. We can therefore say that it has been important for the civilization of the world in general. When closely intertwined with other civilizations like the eastern civilization it has provided important standards for judging the development in the life of man. It had a lot of impact on the development of modern way of life in political, social and economical spheres. But this has not been the end of the revolution. There are more challenges on the way that have to be ideal with if the life of the people will continue to be better. There are security problems that still remain a night mare to the population. No one feels safe amid the rising wave of crimes in the urban areas. There are still steps that have to be made in order toe address the rising rate of unemployment in these countries especially in France. The dream of welfare states seems to have failed and there need to be more effort aimed at addressing the plight of the helpless in the society. The number of those who are unemployed and religion on the grants from the government has continued to increase with many governments feeling burdened. It is estimated that this may soon end up in social conflicts as those who are paying tax are likely to feel more burdened to support the life of others. There are still economic problems that have to be addressed. In this regard the economic systems in the world have been changing the world and the trade deficit between these nation and rest of the world have been widening. The emergence of other economic power houses like China and the US has been changing the economic landscape of these countries. They still have to take lot of measures in order to streamline their industries again so that they can produce enough for their population. Dealing with violence One of the challenges of western civilization has been raising violence across their borders. The social changes that have taken place along the path of civilization have led to change in the life of these people which has come with many social vices. There are increased incidences of violence across the borders of these nations. One of the causes of this violence has been the changing economic fortunes. As the economics deteriorate, there has been increased immigration of people to other nations in search of economic future. This leads to increased tension in nations and a rise in incidences of violence. There is need for these governments to put in place measures which will ensure that they deal with the problem of rising conflict in their borders. They need to come up with new ways of dealing with violence across the boarder. Increasing immigration should not be taken as a trigger to violence but there is need to establish the root cause of these border conflicts and violence. Although there are international bodies like UN that have been put in place in order to deal with these problems, there are still more efforts that need to be put in place in order to reconsider warning parties. Militarily action was the solution that was used in the early days of the western civilization and should not be used in modern days. There has to be a more civilized way of dealing with the conflicts. Dialogue and commitment to the solution that are reached through these dialogues are the only way that can be used to solve the conflicts in these nations. The process of western civilization is still continuing and will continue for along time to come. Therefore we should be prepared to take more action in the future in order to deal with the problems that are coming up as a result of the civilization process. References Hobsbawm, E. (1992): Nations and Nationalism since 1780. Cambridge University Press Jacques, B. (2000): From dawn to decadence: 500 years of Western civilization. Haper Collins Merriman, J. (1996): The creation of modern Europe: From Renaissance to the present. Norton Smith, A. (1996): Origins of Nations. London: Basil Blackwell Read More