classical_hero
In whom I trust
I would say countries that culturally Christian and primarily Protestant Christianity.
The 'Western' World
- Thread starter aronnax
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Quackers
The Frog
Why would you exclude Catholic European nations from the West classical?
If we exclude the "favelados", Rio would look nicer than most european cities...
We have our Indias and our Belgiums too - hence the nickname Belindia.
You know Italy, France, Spain and Portugal all have been western for a longer period than many protestant countries, and had a substantially larger impact on western civilization.
NedimNapoleon
Weird Little Human
why do people always forget to count Slovenia in western europe, its more Austrian than Yugoslav.
TheDanish
Prince
Actually, in pre-modern times, Zhongguo referred to any number of states situated in the North China Plain that were surrounded by "barbarians," and the term Zhongguo could apply to any number of states/countries that controlled the Plain, so it was as geographic as it was cultural.
The people living in a particular dynasty called themselves by that dynastic name, so people living under the Song Dynasty were Songren, who were subjects of the Great Song state, or Da Song. "All under heaven" was generally used to describe "everything" or "the whole world," not just those territories that were under the direct control of a centralized government.
But that's neither here or there. I would argue that the "West" constitutes those political entities that can trace their cultural lineage back to Rome or Greece, though I'm not an expert on Western civilization. I guess that would mean North and South America, most of Europe, and Australia.
Curious, where do people think Japan might fit in all this? Culturally Japan is heavily influenced by the West, and its infrastructure is pretty much America in miniature. I would argue that Japanese culture has the same league of distance from America as American culture differs from Eastern Europe.
I certainly do. Maybe not the UAE, but definitely the Asian tigers and Japan
Singularity
Infinite Density
The Enlightenment
"Mankind's final coming of age, the emancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error. [Immanuel Kant; 1784]"
Protestant christianity is a part of a bigger jigsaw of cultural and scientific evolution that made us forget about burning bushes in the desert, commandments, holy relics and inquisitions. And it left the screaming barbaric rabble of the rest of the world eating our western dust. I see no problem with calling it the western world.
"Mankind's final coming of age, the emancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error. [Immanuel Kant; 1784]"
Protestant christianity is a part of a bigger jigsaw of cultural and scientific evolution that made us forget about burning bushes in the desert, commandments, holy relics and inquisitions. And it left the screaming barbaric rabble of the rest of the world eating our western dust. I see no problem with calling it the western world.
Lillefix
I'm serious. You can.
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Judging from my own experience, I don't think so.
I can't pinpoint it exactly, but there are all these little things that makes Japanese different from westerners. Take religion for example. When we discuss religion everyone on the board have more or less the same preconception of what a religion is. I'm sure many Japanese people can not even properly grasp our idea of religion(which is based on the Abrahamic religions). To them religion doesn't necessarily involve gods and so on.
TheDanish
Prince
That's true. Religion in the East Asian world has a whole slew of meanings and connotations that aren't the same as their "Western" counterparts. Many Asian ideas we label as "religions" are closer to philosophies, or they at least straddle the line.
Singularity
Infinite Density
Japan went through heavy transformation from a feudal society centred around eastern philosphical thinking to a western philospophy during the Meiji Restoration. The Tokugawa Shogunate subjugated itself under Emperor Meiji's rule in 1867 - all under the ideals of industrial and military growth based around a western template of thought and philosophy. American culture came into play later I would say in the post ww2 world.
It was not a religious yoke that was abandoned, but rather a feudal society that saw itself extremely inferior to the emerging powers of a western industrialized fueled military might.
T_KCommanderbly
Prince
Yes, many of the devoloping countries and third world countries are starting to adapt Christianity. As the European countries are losing it. Don't have a cite on that though, but thats what I remember reading.
Anyways we ought to be,
"The Good Guys"
I'm sure the Bad Guys in the east will agree with me.
Winner
Diverse in Unity
Sorry, but the scale of urban poverty in Brazil doesn't compare with Europe, especially Western Europe. Yes, you can find some pretty miserable places in Eastern Slovakia, but these are very small gypsy settlements of a few hundred people. There are Roma-dominated neighbourhoods in some towns that look pretty bad, but nowhere is the situation as bad as in the Brazilian slums. (I mean, people are not running around with automatic rifles.)
The fact is that even relatively less developed European countries are better at taking care of their poor than most countries in Latin America (except perhaps Chile and Uruguay, I am not sure). There is probably some cultural difference in how eextreme poverty is perceived in Latin America as compared to Europe - Europeans won't stand it, while in Latin America it is accepted as a normal part of life.
aronnax
Let your spirit be free
The Asian Tigers and Japan, unlike North African Poland, have little wish to identify themselves as "the West" or "Westerners". It's as much a cultural thing as it is a development thing.
I think I like the term Anglo-European World or Euro-Anglo Sphere. I shall use this world in replacement for "the west".
