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Was the West Just Lucky?
There are three common perceptions that define our ethnocentric views: Western Europe was preordained to triumph over the East, Western superiority is the climax of all of civilization, God created the west powerful to cleanse mankind. ... Janet Abu-Lugod’s essay, “The World in the Thirteenth Century: Dead-End or Precursor” expresses her opinion of the luck that the west possessed in order to emerge as powerful as it did. ... Janet Abu-Lugod thesis states: “There was no inherent historical necessity that shifted the system to favor the West rather than the East, nor was there any inherent historical necessity that would have prevented cultures in the eastern region from becoming the progenitors of a modern world system (2). ...
Janet Abu-Lughod argues that the west was merely fortunate, however, the Western structure was better suited for the time because it was ambidextrous. ... Due to the development of philosophy and science in the seventeenth century, the west took a drastic new turn. ... If the Europeans had just been efficient looters, their fate would have been similar to that of the Mongols. ... Above all, Janet Abu-Lughod implies that capitalism is a reason for the rise of the west over the east; however, capitalism was a power that Western Europe succeeded with.
Approximate Word count = 1059
Approximate Pages = 4.2
(250 words per page double spaced)
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