Why we should say thank you to Western civilization

There are words that are not easy to hear or even pronounce in these years . Among these, the words "thank you, West!" . Today, in fact, it is fashionable to denigrate our history and our civilization . All the good we have done, for ourselves and for others, is the supreme taboo of this era.

In schools, the true history of progress is no longer taught, which was born in our home and where Italy also played a role. Instead, in the squares and in contemporary culture we are under a permanent process.

In his latest essay, not coincidentally entitled Thank You, West! (Mondadori, 2024, pp. 348) Federico Rampini invites us to rebel against a one-way negative narrative, in the name of truth and history.

In this journey through the history of the last centuries and the geopolitics of the contemporary world, the editorialist of the Corriere della Sera delves into what the West has really been for humanity , providing a lesson in historical honesty that is urgent for the new generations: «I am frightened by the ignorance of many Westerners, especially young people, regarding the history of our civilization, and how much it has benefited the human race» Federico Rampini tells us . «We live in an age of conformism in which a title like mine is taboo, it must be censored . In many American universities I could not even speak , the West can only be spoken of to denounce its horrors and wickedness. Since I am a citizen of the world, a global nomad, I know from direct experience that other civilizations have a much more positive and respectful attitude towards their own past . If they are then governed by authoritarian regimes, the history of their origins is the subject of a proud narration. Only we are ashamed of what we have been. I wanted to go against the grain and I believe that this book is a restorative cure for our self-esteem. Moreover, I drew on the works of the greatest historians, I did not invent anything".

What are the main things we have to thank Western civilization for?

"If there are one billion four hundred million Chinese alive today, as many Indians, as many Africans, it is literally thanks to us. Modern agriculture with methods invented in the West has multiplied crops and allows us to feed almost all the inhabitants of the planet. Medicine born in the West has reduced infant mortality and maternal mortality at childbirth to a minimum. Even in the poorest areas of Africa, longevity has increased by twenty years in less than a century. And then electricity, modern means of transport, telecommunications. The list of what the West has discovered or invented in the last two or three centuries is endless, and we take it for granted. But all the non-Western countries that have been protagonists of economic miracles, from Japan to Korea, from Singapore to China, all without exception have copied us in many things, including our market economy."

What positive things have we exported to the world?

"From vaccines to antibiotics, the list is so endless that for one of the fifteen chapters I hired artificial intelligence as an assistant. The result was a chapter that was even too long! And despite this, some readers have already pointed out some absences. It is dizzying to review everything that Western progress has achieved. And not only in terms of improving our material living conditions. In the West, not elsewhere, the concept of universal education was born: then fortunately copied by everyone. In the West, an idea of rights has matured that has become universal. Even if we have not always been consistent with our values, and have sometimes trampled on them, another Western virtue is the capacity for self-criticism."

Where does this constant self-flagellation lead us?

"To lower our guard against the danger represented by our antagonists, by authoritarian regimes like China and Russia that actively propagandize on the theme of Western decadence. Yet, the worst detractors of the West, like the regimes of Beijing and Tehran, call themselves Republics (one Popular, the other Islamic). The concept of Republic was not invented by Confucius and does not exist in the Koran. It was born in Rome, then it was elaborated in the American and French democratic revolutions at the end of the eighteenth century."

Can we do something concrete to reverse this masochistic drift of ours?

"Read and study true history, not the ideologized caricature that is the dominant thought today, and wants to force us to reduce our history to a great crime novel. Made only of oppression and exploitation. Slavery was practiced by all civilizations, all without exception. The abolition of slavery, however, was a battle born in the West. For women's rights, Iranian women tortured in prison look to us."