1. DECLINE AND FALL OF WESTERN POWER AND CULTURE
sergio benassai
In the XVIII century Edward Gibbon published a famous book entitled “The Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire”.
It’s time now to start to consider the “The Decline and Fall of the Western Power and Culture”.
It should be obvious that each power and culture is unavoidably destined to an end.
And, irrespective of Fukuyama’s opinion, we are not at the end of history.
Of course we are not in the position of envisaging the future, but we can look at the existing
situation and try to understand if we are in a situation where the dominant western power and
culture is going to decline and to fall.
Just to be clear, western power and culture are here identified with the power and culture of Europe
and North America.
My opinion is that the power and culture of Europe and North America is going to decline and to
fall.
It is envisaged that, in the coming years, the BRICS (Brasil, Russia, India, China, Southafrica) will
dominate, certainly from an economical point of view, the entire world.
But, what is perhaps still more relevant, they will put on the table (with the strength of their
economical force) their culture, which is not (I repeat: is not ! ) our culture.
Let us consider, for instance, the basis of the Chinese culture.
The basis are the Confucianism (which has survived also to the maoist cultural revolution), which,
in confront with the western approach (based on the tradition of Greek philosophy, Roman
legislation and French and American democracy), is founded on few simple, very practical,
approach, such as: respect of the authority, value of the family, relevance of the merit in assigning
public charge.
More interesting, for us, should be the Indian approach, where (with enormous efforts) different
cultures were (and are) able to live together.
Then, how to manage the “Decline and Fall of the Western Power and Culture” ?
My straightforward opinion is to look at Indian approach and, in this perspective, to put our Greek
philosophy, Roman legislation and French and American democracy as an addictive contribution to
the Chinese confucianism in order to reiterate, from one side, the Chinese practical approach ,and,
on the other side, the necessary confirmation of democracy.
