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America, America 911, Barack Obama, BBC, Britain First, Christianity, Christianity and Islam, Civilisation, Counter-Jihad, Defend the modern world, Demographics of Europe, English Defence League, Facebook, Islam and the West, Multiculturalism, Muslims, Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, United States, west and east, west vs east, western definition, Western world
In the course of an online discussion last Tuesday, I was asked a deceptively simple-sounding question that has since plagued my thinking. After offering an argument for the inherent superiority of the ‘West’, my competitor stumped me by requesting that I “define ‘the West'” – that is, explain what it actually consists of.
Having had a few days to ponder an answer, during which I have been staring intensely at google maps and rifling through the pages of Wikipedia, I have come up with a list of countries I consider ‘Western’. I must add beforehand the obvious point that ‘West’ and ‘Western’ in this context have no geographic meaning, but rather imply certain standards of civilisation, such as secularism, gender equality, liberal capitalism and a free press. Here then is my answer – presented in no particular order:
Great Britain and all the countries of the EU
Liberal commonwealth nations (such as Jamaica, Trinidad etc..)
The United States
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
India*
Japan
South Korea
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Brazil
Argentina
Chile
Uruguay
Mexico
South Africa
Armenia
Israel
*It should be noted that India has an anti-democratic caste system, with different categories recorded by government. This must change if India is to maintain its Western character.
Now, a lot of people would say I’m being far too generous with this list. When such people think of ‘The West’, they think of things like influence, affluence, cleanliness and order, as well as the basic civilizational standards mentioned above. I understand what these people mean and would agree that there exists a ‘core’ inside of the West, without which the whole ‘Western’ construct would begin to fragment or collapse. This core is simply the Anglosphere, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Such nations are not merely of the West, but its original authors.
Needless to say, no Islamic country comes close to membership of this marvellous club. And I doubt that fact will change any time soon.
D, LDN.
Defend the Modern World 
“The West” as a construct is entirely a worldview of a society made up of checks and balances. And you are right. It is only embraced (not always completely) by those countries listed, give or take a few. It is modern thinking… period. Free from the constraints of religion and class. An ideal not always realized but nevertheless at the core of the definition. I fail to understand the Left’s abandonment of these virtues, given the alternative, but then the USSR happened, didn’t it?
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” It is modern thinking… period. Free from the constraints of religion and class” – Well put.
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I liked the Coke can for your article’s pic! This image of the West infuriates people, esp the victimized class, of course. But they ought to envision a world without disposable tampons and diapers. Not to mention i-Crap, which arrived sooner than flush toilets in many places, and coveted more so, as well, than toilets.
It means people love everything they profess to hate about the West, which has always been about the very freedom we have as human beings… choices over pre-determined outcomes.
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I completely agree. I love every aspect of the West, including consumerism. Shopping malls, Starbucks outlets, fizzy drinks and McDonalds enrich our lives. Long live liberal capitalism.
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V S Naipaul speaks of “the Universal civilisation”. Have you read him? His two books on Islam, as observed on the ground during road trips through Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia – “Among the Believers” and “Beyond Belief” – are well worth reading.
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I dipped into one of his books at university, but didn’t read much of it. I think he’s correct if he is saying there is only one true civilisation.
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I’m sad that Russia is not in this list and I understand your reasons for not including Russia in this list.
However, if I was the foreign minister of the U.K. or the U.S, one of my core priorities would be to get Russia on to the Western geopolitical orbit.
I would surely dump this stupid, dangerous(for the West) and hypocritical alliance with Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and work on establishing good relations within Russia as it is, with Putin, warts and all, with an understanding that due to their blood soaked history, the Russians crave stability and law & order over ‘democracy’. I would even go to the extent of disbanding NATO, and reconstitute a fresh alliance, with an increasingly Islamizing Turkey, kept firmly out of any Westen military alliance.
Culturally, due to their Christian heritage, the Russians are already, to an extent, in the Western orbit. It’s time to bring Russia into the Western orbit in the geo-political sense as well.
The Russians, along with the Israelis are like the front line troops in our existential struggle against Islamic (Sunni) fundamentalism, and we should recognize and appreciate Russia for this.
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Yes, I thought long and hard about including Russia. It’s a very difficult issue. Historically, Russia has defined itself as distinct from the West, often hostile to it. There are real cultural differences in religion, language (a non-Roman alphabet) and tradition. If (and only if) Russia decides they belong to the Western definition, we should greet them with open arms. But Putin is a strange guy. He, like many Russian nationalists, views Russia as a civilisation in and of itself, distinct from and superior to the decadent West.
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