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The West Does Not Know Catastrophe
Maybe soon it will
“Catastrophic” doesn’t so much describe the seriousness of failure as the state in which a project is left. A catastrophic failure is a complete failure. There is nothing to salvage. The American civil war was catastrophic for the Confederates but, though devastating in terms of the carnage, couldn’t be said to be catastrophic when it comes to the American project.
Palestine has it own catastrophe known as the Nakba (meaning ‘the catastrophe’). Similarly the Jews have an alternative name for the Holocaust which is Shoah, again meaning ‘the catastrophe’. Both were disasters with no remedy. Both were literally devastating. This appears to be a one way street as Western colonialists have had their setbacks yet they still contol their former colonies. The West knows nothing of catastrophe.
Made in its own image
Western hegemony has been so successful that it’s values have been universally adopted. It created a paradigm where the USA was able to become the solitary super power, the most powerful and prosperous empire the world has ever known. Britain was the precursor out of which the USA was spawned. For this reason English is the language of the world.
Despite Islam inspiring Western architecture, contributing considerably to developments in…
