Lecture series: On the East’s fall from grace and the West’s rise to supremacy

Participants discuss reasons for fortune reversals.


Our Correspondent June 28, 2013
Participants discuss reasons for fortune reversals. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


According to historical accounts, up until the mid-18th century, there were regions of the East which were ahead of the West not only in cultural development but also in manufacturing. But ever since, the Western nations, spurred perhaps by the Age of Discovery and Enlightenment, underwent a transformation that left their Eastern counterparts far behind in terms of progress and development.


This East-West imbalance continues to this day, with the obvious exception of China and some Far East countries which have achieved economic and technological growth.



But what were the main factors of this great transformation in the European world and why did similar changes not occur in the East, particularly in countries such as India and China which are often credited for some of the earliest contributions to science and philosophy?

Participants of the School of Modern History and Philosophy pondered over these questions during the school’s fifth lecture, delivered by veteran intellectual and writer Ashfaq Saleem Mirza, at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) institute on Thursday.

The school is an informal fortnightly gathering of people from all walks of life interested in history and philosophy-related topics. Its lectures are scheduled to run till October.



During the discussion, Mirza shared observations made by Arab geographers and historians about Europe in the Middle Ages. These historical accounts, which might pass as reverse-Orientalism these days, mostly characterised the Europeans as “stupid” and “brutish.” Mirza also cited a table from Paul Kennedy’s “The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers”, to illustrate China and united India’s dominance of manufacturing in 1750 and subsequent decline in 1900, after which Europe started to flourish in the sector.

The participants discussed possible reasons for this reversal in fortunes. They talked about the oppression and exploitation that European Colonialism brought with it, the Industrial Revolution that began in Great Britain in the late 18th century and changes in the world’s power centres during the 18th and 19th centuries as factors for the transformation.

Earlier, Mirza talked about the impact of new discoveries on 16th century Europe. He said that the invention of the printing press meant that Greek and Roman texts and Martin Luther’s ideas had started to reach wider audiences. Traditional regional European struggles were eclipsed by larger contests to capture the continent, he said.

The school’s next session will be held at the FES office on July 13 at 11am.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28th, 2013.

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