“The greatest single crisis in the world today is happening in the universities, in terms of the interpretation of man and society and history and spirit and destiny.” – Charles Malik, Christian Lebanese diplomat
If Western civilization fails, it won’t be because of some inherent or fatal flaw but because it has failed to compellingly tell its own story and remain true to the deepest in its civilizational tradition.
What is Western civilization?
Western values is a phrase encompassing the moral and cultural synthesis emanating from Jerusalem, Rome, and Athens. As Charles Malik put it:
“If a circle is drawn on the map with Beirut or Damascus or Jerusalem as its center and with a radius of about nine hundred miles, this circle will pretty nearly comprise the whole of the Near East… Western civilization is an offshoot, in diverse modes of relevance, of what was revealed, apprehended, loved, suffered and enacted in these ten cities or in their hinterlands.”
Why Western values matter
For the West to maintain its influence, it must not be ashamed of its deepest values, what Malik called the “Greco-Roman Judeo-Christian Cumulative tradition.” This great story—originating in Athens, Jerusalem, and Rome—provides the answers to the fundamental questions at the heart of politics and civil society: What is man? What dignities does he have as a result of his essential nature? What ought he to strive for and fight against?
Without confident answers to these questions and faith in the values that undergird Western systems of liberal democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech—the resulting cultures would soon wither detached from their vine.
The West’s core principles
There are many Western values that emanate from this great story, and different people disagree and debate on the fringes. But here are several core principles and convictions that provide the bedrock:
- Human dignity and the sanctity of the individual human person
- Faith in what is higher than man: God, the Good, The Truth, etc.
- The belief in objective truth and the constant search to find it
- Respect for reason as a means of doing just that
- The recognition of human limitations, the primacy of love, and the possibility of redemption
- The rule of law
The ominous alternatives to the West
A strong West is important in part because of the culture and values that would fill the vacuum in its absence. Consider the alternative: the Islamist regime of Iran, neo-Marxist ideologies, and the expansionist and anti-Western forces of China, Russia, and North Korea. The West, despite its foibles and failures, holds at its core the values and traditions essential for democracy and pluralism in our world today.
Believers in the West have to tell its story
If those who love Western civilization and the Near-Eastern and Hebraic traditions at its core do not return to and defend the deepest in their tradition, the Marxists, Materialists, and Islamists will win the culture war. The good news is, the West has the most beautiful story to offer –– one steeped in universal values, belief in the good, and the possibility of redemption. We just need to remember how to tell it.