The decline of the West

The book of Samuel Huntington (1927-2008), published in 1996, has been successful with the general public after September 11 2001, when the apologists of the Bush administration annexed it to their propaganda to justify their criminal wars. In fact, to read it, we can verify that the often nuanced book does not deserve this sulfur sponsorship. The mistress and original idea developed by the author is built around the importance of the concept of civilization as a major factor distinguishing geopolitical blocks and these civilizations would be brought roughly by the great religions. One can find insufficient demonstration, but its development is not less interesting. To examine it closely, it may be true on average although one can find a multitude of special cases that invalidate. Whatever! These are social sciences, not physics.
To fast three areas in particular emerge from this large book (548 pages): the emergence of China, that of Islam, and the decline of the West which refers to older authors (Toynbee, Spengler) but more concretely. Recent conflicts of the late twentieth century are particularly well analyzed through a grid of concepts developed by the author: central notions dominant, state-lighthouse, and influence level (p.411) . The hurried readers will jump directly to Chapter XII of conclusion: the author explains unambiguously that Western belief in the universal vocation of culture is wrong, immoral and dangerous and all flagship State must refrain from intervening in the conflicts in another civilization than theirs. Among others.
There are, however some lacks. Of these, some important questions: what would the West without Christianity? (See an answer, that of Comte-Sponville in "The spirit of atheism"). Similarly, the presentation of the old strategy of predation mining (oil) in the United States is very little present. Also evaluated under the outrageous militarism which was settled after 2001 and the risk posed within the establishment of a police state security (torture, surveillance and massive FILING, indefinite detention without trial, media standardization ) on the moral values ​​of the West, all things acting perhaps as root causes adjacent mechanisms outlined in the book. But this is a very good book even if one does not approve all the theses.