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Worlds at War: the 2,500-year Struggle between East and West

Worlds at War: the 2,500-year Struggle between East and West 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 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Early Modern History Brill

Worlds at War: the 2,500-year Struggle between East and West

Journal of Early Modern History , Volume 13 (1): 93 – Jan 1, 2009

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2009 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1385-3783
eISSN
1570-0658
DOI
10.1163/157006509X445482
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

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

Journal of Early Modern HistoryBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2009

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