Uniqueness of Western Civilization
Arguments about the distinctiveness of Western civilization, including Duchesne's thesis, the Phoenician contribution, and Atlantic-facade European development
The “uniqueness of Western civilization” has been a recurring theme in CCR, drawing on figures as varied as Ricardo Duchesne (whose 2011 The Uniqueness of Western Civilization is reviewed in v67), Karl Jaspers (Axial Age thesis), and Ibn Khaldun (asabiyyah and civilizational cycles). Articles have examined the Phoenician contribution to the formation of the Western world (Bronze Age “embryonic” Western civilization; Iron Age exploration, mercantilism and cultural diffusion; Punic Carthage and the Atlantic facade of Europe), the formation of a uniquely European “free space” of plural polities, the role of the Crusades in defining “us vs. them,” and the Roman Empire’s distinctive recruitment of barbarian soldiers.
Laina Farhat-Holzman has argued in v70 and elsewhere for the universal significance of Western civilization against relativist critiques; Piotr Eberhardt has argued in v75 that Latin and Byzantine civilizations should be sharply distinguished as two separate civilizations with different geographies and different relations to the West and to Russia. Discussions in v84 (“Do All Roads Lead to Rome?”) show the Roman and early Chinese empires facing similar recruitment dilemmas and converging on similar policies toward barbarian tribesmen — convergent evolution, not diffusion.
The Phoenician thesis (in v78 and v81) treats Phoenicia and Punic Carthage as the empirical carrier of the Iron Age “quickening” of Western civilization — exploration, mercantilism, alphabet, shipbuilding, and Atlantic-facade cultural diffusion. This contrasts with accounts that center Greek philosophy or Roman law as the foundation of Western uniqueness.
Source summaries:
- v67 (Fall 2012) — Ricardo Duchesne’s The Uniqueness of Western Civilization (Brill, 2011) is reviewed by Laina Farhat-Holzman. Mark Graham’s How Islam Created the Modern World (Amana, 2010) is reviewed by Norman C. Rothman. (v67)
- v70 (Spring 2014) — Laina Farhat-Holzman, “An Observation on the Universal Significance of Western Civilization,” argues for the continuing centrality of Western institutions. (v70)
- v75 (Fall 2016) — Piotr Eberhardt, “The Concept of a Boundary Between the Latin and the Byzantine Civilizations in Europe,” makes a quantitative-geographic case for treating them as separate civilizations. (v75)
- v78 (Spring 2018) — “The Phoenicians and the Formation of the Western World” traces Western formation through Bronze Age Phoenicia, Iron Age exploration, and Punic Carthage. (v78)
- v81 (Fall 2019) — Reissue of the Phoenicians article with “Development of the Atlantic Façade of Europe” added. (v81)
- v84 (Spring 2021) — “Do All Roads Lead to Rome? Exploring the Underlying Logics of Similar Policies and Practices of Recruiting Barbarian Soldiers in Roman and Early Chinese Empires” documents convergent evolution between Rome and Han China. (v84)