Is the Decline of the West Really Coming?

By Muhammad Bakht Jamshaid Baryar

"Decline and fall of powers, religions, cultures, societies, nations and countries has been a constant theme of socio-political history of the world. In different eras different powers have ruled as superpowers. From the last many centuries Western world and its culture has been the epicentre power and prestige"

Different eras have witnessed the dawn and demise of a wide array of powers. In the due course of time; nations, cultures and religions have made their presence felt around the globe. The waves generated by these strongholds of economic and military might have almost always been felt far and wide around the globe.

From the powerful and dominant Persians to barbaric but fearsome Mongols, superpowers have always been present around us. When one vanishes into the sands of time another comes and fills the void vacated. The concept is analogous to the scientific principal of convection. That is when hot air rises, cold air blows in to replace it. Similarly, rise and fall of powers has been a constant theme of our political history.

History is the greatest lesson that was and will ever be taught to mankind. It teachers that fall is inevitable and all face eventual decadence primarily due to the complacent human nature and partly due to mistakes committed on part of the powers.

The fifteen century saw the European society which had been once riddled by dark ages rising to establish itself as a powerful culture and political force around the globe. Great Britain which became the symbol of a typical Western nation rose to become a superpower only to be replaced by the United States of America in the early 20th century. Western Society steadily became the ''Super Society'' of the globe. In a matter of years; its culture, its language, its traditions and values started to be adapted around the globe.

 The West as it has become known over many years has today embarked on the journey of steady decay and decline. This process starts as soon as a power or dynasty reaches the crest of its power, a saturation point. The decline of the west is not only evident in political but also in economic, military, diplomatic and cultural arenas as well. This decline is coming about due to the culmination of strategic, military, diplomatic and political failures committed on part of the Western leaders since the dawn of the new age.

The western world has committed great blunders since the dawn of 20th century which have started to cost it dearly. Since the end of the Second World War, West has undertaken several adventures based on short term goals neglecting the long term effects of its actions. The era before 1945 was marked by a general attitude of isolation and appeasement of ruthless western dictators which led to massive destruction in the shape of the second Great War.

The era after 1945, interestingly was smeared by the ''Cold War'' rivalry between the western world and the Soviet Union; the soviet society was a cross between western and eastern societies. Jumping into unnecessary wars and conflict areas such as the Vietnam, Cuba, Middle East, Afghanistan and Korea were massive strategic and military blunders in part of the West. This alienated the West from the rest of the world being dubbed as ''modern imperialists'' and ''neo-colonialists'' and thus increased the number of nations that wanted to see the end of the power of the West. Accompanied by the massive economic losses in these wars, social and political trouble at home proved to the world that Western nations had dug their own graves.

The ideologically alienated, militarily stuck in quick sand, politically dubious and strategically imbalanced West has today found itself in a bed of self created problems. Military adventures such as the Afghan War in 2001 and the Iraq conflict in 2003 has made more enemies to the west than friends and has aggravated rather than solving problems. The void left by the departure of USSR in the international world had to be filled by some force and the West pathetically failed to fill the vacuum created by the demise of Soviet power. Terrorist forces and figures such Osama Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri came and filled the void. Soon enough names and powers such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Haqqani Network were to be found on the tongues of many people especially Muslims estranged by the Western world.

On one hand the West itself gave birth to terrorist outfits sometimes by befriending them and then leaving them in lurch turning them into foes. At other time these outfits rose out of hatred and enmity to the western world. Simultaneously, there was a group of antagonist nations that had always been enemies of western power, influence and culture such as Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba.

The confluence of these events and trends with the ''Re-Awakening East'' as predicted accurately by Bertrand Russell was a great blow to a West already showing signs of decline. The new Asian tiger economies and the rise of the ''Chinese Dragon'' meant the ultimate fall of western economic monopoly and military dominance would come in the near future. All that remains to be seen today is that when this fall would come.

The super society of the Western world has been declining and decaying gradually over the years, which is yet another cause of the decline in question. Western culture has been disintegrating slowly in the wake of massive technological advancements and scientific achievements. Today, people in the west are so preoccupied with work and technology that culture, society, social life and traditions have faded into the background. Given the state of affairs, if it continues would definitely result in the destruction of western culture and society; it must be noted that culture and tradition are the foundation pillars of any nation.

Through the lenses of psychology and patterns of human behaviour another theory can be offered to make reasonable judgements can be made about decline of powers and nations. ''Complacency'' is an inseparable part of human nature; long term military, economic, strategic, cultural and diplomatic success can cause complacency and ultimate decline. If one takes a look into the pages of history we can witness the fall of the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Middle Eastern Muslims, Indian Mughals and Chinese Imperial Dynasties which came through complacent attitudes developed after years of power and prestige. Something similar seems to be developing in the West, which has started to take its power and prestige for granted.

Changing world situation means that the west which has already committed many blunders, will have to strive very hard to maintain its position. As shown by historical facts, political errors and mistakes committed and patterns of human behaviour, the decline of the west becomes inevitable. Economically, not just the west but generally the world is going into a meltdown. In such circumstances the rise of small nuclear powers such Pakistan, Iran and North Korea will become serious strategic hurdles for the west. When coupled with the rise of China as a super power, the prospects of West seem even bleaker. In such circumstances, any sane person can safely conclude that the wheel of time has ended its favourable reign on the west and that new age is about to dawn.

Time, is the only thing that can prove when the decline that is definitely inevitable will come for the western world. History will once again open its archives to list down those once considered masters and rulers of earth. A new age, is about to dawn in which the aces of power shall shuffle once again as it has been happening continuously over history.

Today, the world stands at cross roads where a new era is about dawn and a new age is about to make its presence felt in the shelves of history. Fortunes shall be overturned for some and lost treasures recovered by others. New powers will rise to fill in the vacuum left by west, new super cultures would shape themselves and new alliances would be forged. The reason behind it is the apparent and most certain decline of the West which has now become inevitable in wake of the all reasons mentioned earlier.

“Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.”
Abraham Lincoln