It is quite fashionable these days to assert that the West is losing its ascendance and the ‘East’ is reclaiming its glory and ascendance in world politics and economics. It is posited that the ‘East’s’ trajectory and progress was halted by western imperialism and colonialism and that the East has now mastered the game and is beating the west at its own game. Support for this view is adduced from the alleged shift of the centre of gravity of economic affairs to the east. While the merits of these assertions and analyses are debatable and the emphasis on the east-west dichotomy over emphasized and a tad rich, there is indubitably some change going on in world affairs-political and economic. It would be more sober and prudent to view this change not in zero sum terms and occurring in a competitive idiom between the so called East and the west but in terms of overall civilizational progress.
This progress can occur neither by blindly mimicking and imitating the west nor can it come about if the west sees the east as a monolithic civilizational construct in competitive terms. It can, however, occur through a process of mutual learning and osmosis. The ‘East’, not in any way, a monolithic bloc or region may need to introspect and integrate the best of what the west has to offer with its own traditions. This means understanding and putting into perspective the nature of the western philosophy and integrating it with the East’s very own set of philosophies- the Islamic, Indic and the Sinic ones. The question is what is the summum bonum and the essence of the West’s philosophy?
It is reason and its corollary that informs the West’s core. This is not meant to imply that the non-west or the ‘East’ is unreasonable or irrational but that the East inherits a legacy that views the world, at times, with a certain approach and reason that militates against reason. Reason forms the bedrock upon which the western edifice is built upon. This imbues the western imagination with a certain approach and the western imagination is then freed from encumbrances. If there is such a thing as the west, it is those peoples that view the world in a certain way. This is a problem solving approach and a view that sees and views no limits and limitations on human potential. Consequently, it allows the western mind to explore new possibilities and push limitations imposed by nature to the extent these can be pushed.
From the invention of the aircraft by the Wright brothers to the invention of the light bulb by Edison , the discovery of the atom or the contemporary developments in information, communications and technology(ICT), it is the West that pioneers , discovers and invents. The non -west just follows or imitates. This will always be the case unless the non- west imbibes, inculcates and accepts reason as the sine qua non of progress. (Progress here is broadly defined). Even though I am loath to identify myself with any civilization, and cosmopolitanism as a world view and approach to life and the world is my choice, I cannot deny nor disavow my origins and roots. As such, I will align myself with the non-west.
Orientalist tropes which cast and depict the East (or the non-west)as unchanging in its essence are just that: tropes. We are a capable and intelligent people and historically we have contributed immensely in almost all domains of existence. However, we have lagged now because we have chosen to abdicate reason and accord other stuff precedence over reason. It is exigent that we realign our world view and approach and integrate reason with our rich traditional and cultural legacy. This will allow us to attain and reach efflorescence. The benefits will be obvious and varied.
A word of caution is warranted here. We should synthesize reason with our own traditions and culture. Our cultures are not inherently regressive or an impediment to progress. They are fine and are in the domain of high culture. At the same time, we should never, (not even for a moment) view our trajectory in contradistinction with the west. Civilizational conflict, as history testifies, regresses the human condition and is bad for all. No one emerges victorious. It leads to the ‘banality of evil’. Our endeavour, always should be to work for and towards a world wherein civilizations learn from each other and work mutually for the progress of civilization. Let us work together toward this goal and let the west and the east rewrite history together and create a new world.
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