CDZ What is 'Western Civilization' anyway?

[DOTR]

So what is Westernn Civilization to you?

It is an amalgam of the cultures that trace their origins to the Mediterranean Sea area 2-3 thousand years ago.. This mostly means Egypt, Greece, and Rome but these were heavily influenced by the cultures they interacted with, including Mesopotamian cultures and Asian and European nomadic "barbarians".

So would you say that Eastern Roman Empire, so-called Byzantium, was a western culture?

I haved always related Western Civilization to the Roman side that amalgamated with the Celts, Germans and then finally the Swedes (Vikings). These nations adopted the Latin alphabet, Roman legal concepts and many axioms of their culture, such as individualism being on equal footing with the government, unlike the East where the state is supreme.

Where do you all disagree?

There is no hard line, either geographically or historically that divides West and non-West. Every culture is influenced by those around it. The Eastern influences on Byzantium were greater than on Rome because of their geography. So it might be considered a transitional culture, neither fully Eastern nor fully Western.

When we use the phrase 'Western Civilization' I think of it as Synecdoche for 'Western Roman-European Civilizatioon'. That does not seem to be your interpretation.

View attachment 240329

Is this a map showing the freest, most prosperous nations ever in dark blue? Wait...it’s labeled “western”. Same thing.

 

[Gorgeous George]

Money owns it.

 

[jwoodie]

H B Lowrie said: ↑
White supremacy is at the heart of both western "civilization" and capitalism.

Profound statement, if you think about it.