Civilization: The West and the Rest

Shortly following the 2003 invasion of Iraq led by the United States, Ferguson publicly described himself as “a fully paid-up member of the neo-imperialist gang” (“Niall Ferguson: admirable historian, or imperial mischief maker?“ The Guardian, 18 June 2012). That same year, his book, Empire: How Britain Made the Modern World, was published. Throughout his career, Ferguson has consistently praised the Western imperialist project as a key vehicle behind the spread of civilization around the world. It is this type of thinking that underpins Civilization: The West and the Rest. From the onset, the subtitle of this book engages in Othering and sets up an “us versus them” dynamic by labeling the diverse civilizations outside the West as “the Rest.” The author maintains this dynamic throughout this study because he considers Western global domination to be an important factor in its internal success and cohesion. This domination generally occurred by using economic (mercantilist, then capitalist) and military means and, later, soft power.

However, there are other criteria that can make a civilization successful, such as longevity. China claims to have 5,000 years of uninterrupted history, which makes it a success in this category.