Saturday, August 23, 2014

Stark and the history of the West--next installment




I realize that these blogs are taking up a long time. But the topic is vital for us today because there are so many who have given us a false idea of where we as Westerners have come from. Why? In an attempt to put down Christianity and to make us feel less proud of our values. Multiculturalism in all its silliness is on the rise, so the West has to be brought low. Sad . . .


Stark begins chapter 9 of his book How the West Won by attacking revisionist scholars in another area. Many of them claim Europe's industrial and technological lead over the rest of the world developed only recently. Some even claim that the West stole it all from Asia.


But he says the reality is that medieval Europe, home to Christianity, was responsible for this rise of technology and  industry. It was during this time that the rise of banking, elaborate manufacturing networks, rapid innovations in technology and finance, and a busy network of trading cities occurred.  For example, English capitalism arose because of political freedom as seen in the Magna Carta; English merchants enjoyed secure property rights and free markets. Capitalism became essential to England's industrialization.


The most remarkable technological progress in that era was occurring in Europe, not elsewhere. From 1200 through 1500 European technology was rapidly improving in many areas that Stark mentions. I'll list just a few critical areas he discusses--metallurgy, ships, and armaments.


So, another slur against the West (and Christianity in particular) has been laid to rest.

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