The Millenium of the West essays

The Millenium of the West essays According to The Economist article "The Millennium of the West," the last millennium, especially the last 250 years, has seen a triumph of the West's beliefs, ideas, military and government. The article makes an attempt to step back in time and analyze the evolution of economic growth, science and technology throughout the world. A commonly stated adage is that one can predict the future by looking into the past; therefore, we will use The Economists research into our past millennium in order to peer into the future and predict the state of the world in June of 2007. When one questions the future of the world they are forced to and must examine the past and current status of the West and its coming state as well. Currently the western world is characterized by electoral democracy, the rule of law, tolerance of descent, and the belief in individual rights. The triumph of western civilization has brought a flourishing of knowledge and wealth, health and population, and institutions and ideas. What if western characteristics were suddenly to change by a world-altering event? Our what if all the West's characteristics slowly evolved into an altered structure? From research into the past we understand that it is possible that certain dominant civilizations are vulnerable to change and may fall as a result of more influential and commanding structures. As a result, a change in the dominance of western civilization is foreseeable, yet it may be unlikable that such an event would occur in the next five years. However, nothing proves that the West's triumph will endure. In fact, Japan has already made a huge mark on the world economy with its exceptional technological advances and its highly efficient organizational and manufacturing structures. Furthermore, with their enormous population's, China and India may also pose a threat to the West's power and influence over the world. In addition, India's influence continues to pose a t...