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Book Reviews / Journal of Early Modern History 13 (2009) 71-98 93 Pagden, Anthony, Worlds at War: the 2,500-year Struggle between East and West (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), xxiv + 516 pp., ISBN 9 780 19923 743 2, £20.00; ISBN 9 780 19956 977 9, £12.99; Random House, 2009, IBSN 9 780 81296 890 3, $17.00. Pagden argues that East and West have always been diff erent, and that intermittent wars are a symptom of this. Th e diff erence lies in politics and political culture. Th e West is democratic; that is, it supports the rule of law. Th e East is monarchical and authoritarian; shown both by its governments and by its religions. Pagden locates modern western democracy in the pro- cess of secularization. (It is refreshing to encounter so much unabashed support for the Enlightenment project.) Th e inspiration for this book comes, we are told, from Herodotus. Th e Greek/Persian dualism is not unconvincing, though somewhat overstated: most Greek authors thought other peoples could adopt the enlightened way of life of the Greeks, Herodotus and Aristotle here being, confusingly, the exceptions (see H.C. Baldry, Th e Unity of Mankind in Greek Th ought
Journal of Early Modern History – Brill
Published: Jan 1, 2009
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