Quote Originally Posted by Hurin_Rules
I'd have to agree with Pindar on that one, although it is an interesting read.

BTW, Pindar, I'm not really familiar with Boorstin (beyond his stint as Librarian of Congress), or with his position on this; can you summarize or point me in the right direction here?
Hi Hurin,

Do you recall Boorstin's three part work starting with "The Discoverers"? * It's dated, but like Diamond he got the Pulitzer. Toward the beginning to the investigation he asks the same question: why the West came out on top as opposed to any other major civilizational block, particularly given the West's relative backwardness. His basic answer is tied to cultural norms. Whereas all the other civilizational blocks developed a core state apparatus that informed all things under the sun, the West remained fractured. This fractured condition allowed the West one key advantage: competition. Other civilizations due to their dominate model tended to atrophy. The dynamism Boorstin refers to could apply to the Greek City States, Italy during the Renaissance or Western Europe as a whole. That is a simple summery though other elements can be added.


*
Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
The other two being "The Creators" and "The Seekers"