Greatness and Ruin: Self-Reflection and Universalism within European Civilization
Of all the noteworthy advances and accomplishments in every area of human endeavor, the overwhelming majority have come from one part of the world: Europe and its New World offshoots, collectively referred to as the West. This troublesome fact may be downplayed or deconstructed by the politically correct establishment, but it cannot be credibly denied. The question, then, is why.
In Greatness and Ruin, maverick scholar Ricardo Duchesne sets out to answer this question, dispelling mainstream academia’s counter-arguments along the way. Demonstrating an extraordinary breadth of scholarship, addressing subjects from music to mathematics, philosophy to furniture design, Duchesne establishes that while other peoples had their share of breakthrough advances at occasions in their histories, the West was the only civilization to produce continuous advancements building upon each other throughout its entire history. He constructs a convincing case that the particular western cultural trait of individualism led to the development of a unique sense of selfhood, producing a culture wherein excellence and ethics are valued more than kinship ties, allowing for a blossoming of creativity and experimentation unparalleled in any other society. This progress has made the West wealthy, industrious, and culturally dominant on a global scale, but also atomized, culturally incoherent, nihilistic, hostile towards its own history, and willing to disrupt its ethnic and racial demographics for short-term economic gain. In short, it has led to our greatness and our ruin. Duchesne argues, however, that the West can retreat from this precipice, tempering the self-destructive, liberal tendency of individualism through historical self-consciousness and a worldview incorporating community and cohesion, while allowing individual creativity to flourish again toward more pro-social ends.
Only available in paperback.
Print Length: 655 Pages
Of all the noteworthy advances and accomplishments in every area of human endeavor, the overwhelming majority have come from one part of the world: Europe and its New World offshoots, collectively referred to as the West. This troublesome fact may be downplayed or deconstructed by the politically correct establishment, but it cannot be credibly denied. The question, then, is why.
In Greatness and Ruin, maverick scholar Ricardo Duchesne sets out to answer this question, dispelling mainstream academia’s counter-arguments along the way. Demonstrating an extraordinary breadth of scholarship, addressing subjects from music to mathematics, philosophy to furniture design, Duchesne establishes that while other peoples had their share of breakthrough advances at occasions in their histories, the West was the only civilization to produce continuous advancements building upon each other throughout its entire history. He constructs a convincing case that the particular western cultural trait of individualism led to the development of a unique sense of selfhood, producing a culture wherein excellence and ethics are valued more than kinship ties, allowing for a blossoming of creativity and experimentation unparalleled in any other society. This progress has made the West wealthy, industrious, and culturally dominant on a global scale, but also atomized, culturally incoherent, nihilistic, hostile towards its own history, and willing to disrupt its ethnic and racial demographics for short-term economic gain. In short, it has led to our greatness and our ruin. Duchesne argues, however, that the West can retreat from this precipice, tempering the self-destructive, liberal tendency of individualism through historical self-consciousness and a worldview incorporating community and cohesion, while allowing individual creativity to flourish again toward more pro-social ends.
Only available in paperback.
Print Length: 655 Pages
Of all the noteworthy advances and accomplishments in every area of human endeavor, the overwhelming majority have come from one part of the world: Europe and its New World offshoots, collectively referred to as the West. This troublesome fact may be downplayed or deconstructed by the politically correct establishment, but it cannot be credibly denied. The question, then, is why.
In Greatness and Ruin, maverick scholar Ricardo Duchesne sets out to answer this question, dispelling mainstream academia’s counter-arguments along the way. Demonstrating an extraordinary breadth of scholarship, addressing subjects from music to mathematics, philosophy to furniture design, Duchesne establishes that while other peoples had their share of breakthrough advances at occasions in their histories, the West was the only civilization to produce continuous advancements building upon each other throughout its entire history. He constructs a convincing case that the particular western cultural trait of individualism led to the development of a unique sense of selfhood, producing a culture wherein excellence and ethics are valued more than kinship ties, allowing for a blossoming of creativity and experimentation unparalleled in any other society. This progress has made the West wealthy, industrious, and culturally dominant on a global scale, but also atomized, culturally incoherent, nihilistic, hostile towards its own history, and willing to disrupt its ethnic and racial demographics for short-term economic gain. In short, it has led to our greatness and our ruin. Duchesne argues, however, that the West can retreat from this precipice, tempering the self-destructive, liberal tendency of individualism through historical self-consciousness and a worldview incorporating community and cohesion, while allowing individual creativity to flourish again toward more pro-social ends.
Only available in paperback.
Print Length: 655 Pages
