For a long time, the West has become the vanguard of global power and influence. However, it can be argued that the dominance and ascendancy of the Western civilization around the globe is on the downward trajectory. As a matter of fact, there is an ongoing debate that does seem to abate as whether or not the Western civilization is declining. This paper supports the article written by Samuel Huntington titled “The Fading of the West: Power, Culture, and Indigenization, that opines, that the Western civilization is in decline.
Western civilization has been hamstrung by knowledge dissipation that has made other countries close the civilization gap. The West no longer has the control of the winning tools, namely the military strength, political power, science, consumer society, medicine, and technological prowess. Countries and regions around the world have accumulated the necessary resources including military power that was previously a preserve of the western society. In particularly, Asia seems to have arrived with countries such as China challenging the dominance of the West.
Judged from the unprecedented rise of other civilizations, most notably from the East, it can be concluded that the Western civilization is declining. A decline in the Western civilization has occurred in the economy, population, military and technological craftsmanship (Hunnington,451). The West is currently grappling with a myriad of issues namely budget deficits, stagnating populations, and growing unemployment rates. The roaster of the declining western civilization also extends to the loyalty and willingness of other countries and regions in accepting ideas and practices from the West. Examined from the growing hostility of the Islamic world towards the West, it can be concluded that the West is losing the grip and failing to establish a global environment for the spread of its practices, values, and ideas.
Samuel Huntington’s proposition that the West is currently preoccupied with its internal problems is overtly true (Hunnington,451). Perhaps, this has made other civilizations to rise and exert their influence. Consequently, when examined from the perspective of the prevailing global trends such as regionalization, it can be concluded that Western civilization is slowly diminishing. Economic, political and military strategies are currently being reoriented into regional blocks (Hunnington, 456). For example, current economic and military agreements are being accomplished through regional deals as opposed to a global platform that was greatly influenced by the West.
On the reverse, the declining western civilization can be linked to the rise new and higher world order of universal civilization. The world is increasingly becoming one civilization that is characterized by the interaction and coexistence of multiple and diverse civilizations (Hunnington,451). Furthermore, despite the perceived fall of the Western civilization, regions and societies around the globe still require and depend on Western nations to achieve their aspirations. The growth of westernized civilizations is an accurate reflection of this fact. Western civilization such as institutions, language, ideas and social practices continue to play a significant role in the shaping of the new and modern global civilization.
With so many major shifts across the world pointing to the decline of the Western civilization, the influence and power of the West cannot be ruled out. Similarly, despite the global rise of other civilizations around the world, the dominance of the West will still be witnessed in the 21st century and beyond. The debate, around whether the west civilization is on the decline show no sights of fading and it is likely to be a hotly contested issue for the future. Ultimately, deciding whether or not westernization civilization is on the decline requires rational discussion.
Work Cited
Hunnington, Samuel P. "The Fading of the West: Power, Culture and Indigenization." 1996.
