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The West and the restRoger Scruton is Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. His latest book is 'The West and the Rest' (subtitled 'Globalization and the Terrorist Threat'), ISI Books, 2002. On Wednesday July 17 Prof. Scruton gave an introduction to his book at a talk at the Civitas Institute, attended by a significant group of journalists, academics, politicians and myself. Civitas says about itself, 'The Institute's research programme focuses on four areas: health, welfare, education and the family, each underpinned by a single unifying theme: deepening public understanding of the institutions, beliefs and values which are fundamental to a free and democratic society'. Prof. Scruton began by stating that his book offers no solutions to the problems considered, but rather attempts an analysis of what 'the West' is, whether it's under threat, and in what ways. Managed decline'The West' is that group of nations which were influenced by the ideals that spread out from the Mediterranean Basin over the last 3,000 years, ideals which are located, generally speaking, in the Judeo-Christian tradition. It seems that the West is undoing itself from within and is, at the same time, being attacked from without (terrorism and globalisation). Prof. Scruton maintains (in a dry sort of way) that the West has been declining ever since it began and yet still manages to sustain itself. Managed decline is one of the West's highest achievements. In the nations that comprise 'the West', there is a man-made system of legal jurisdiction that these nations have imposed upon themselves. This leads to the power of a political process that is largely successful at resolving conflict. This has led to an idea of citizenship in which the individual owes his loyalty to the legally defined order as manifested in the nation-state. Paul's bodyProf. Scruton asserted (rather unfortunately from my standpoint) that the apostle Paul took the ascetic and self-sacrificing religion of Jesus and made it into a set of ideas shaped by Roman Imperialism. Thus Paul's emphasis on the corporate body (church) eventually flowed out into society and led to the formation of the nation-state subject to secular law, to which all citizens felt loyalty. Within this order there emerged a sort of social contract through which citizens bind themselves to each other to maintain the contract. This is the West's greatest achievement in politics. We need to be clear about the greatness of this achievement and start defending and strengthening it, rather than deprecating it. Last of England?There are some weaknesses in all this to which we are exposed at this point in our history in which globalisation is a very significant development. England, as we know it, is being erased. There is a rebellion against nation-state thinking in European politics which aims to replace the nation-state with a trans-national entity. Our legislative powers are being expropriated by others, our territorial jurisdiction is dissolving from within. Moreover, multi-national businesses are gaining great influence. For instance, some global companies have a greater GDP than some small nations. These entities tend to transcend the nation-state, and can sort of shop-around for the best deal when it comes to which system of jurisprudence to appeal to (the USA tends to be favourite because one can get more for one's pound when it comes to success in litigation). As well as this, immigration is growing and changing in its character. The old-fashioned form of immigration meant that the bravest and the best were the ones who broke away from tyrannies, set off for the new land and wanted to become part of that nation-state. Prof. Scruton observed that one of the reasons for America's 'success' was the wonderful quality of the immigrants it received, over time, from all over the world. However, the new type of immigration, controlled by state sponsorship, leads to people settling in a nation who have no intention of learning loyalty to that nation and its culture, indeed they might even entertain hostility towards it. Such immigration is organised by international law, not genuine asylum-seeking. In these ways globalisation is serving to dissolve national identities in order to produce peace and stability; but the very nations which are being thus dissolved are those through which peace and stability have generally come. The field is being increasingly left open to national forces which have a poor track record in this area. ObservationsI very much enjoyed Prof. Scruton's talk. He comes across as a war-weary traveller who's hanging on to sanity with the help of a self-deprecating and very dry sense of humour. He handled the questions (and some very long and terribly rambling responses masquerading as questions) with great courtesy and ability. I was very struck by Melanie Phillips's (Daily Mail) question about whether the West could only be really 'saved' if it returned to the Christian roots from whence its essential character sprang. Prof. Scruton obviously sympathised with this observation/question, but was, of course, unsure about the possibility of re-inserting faith into cultures which didn't want it. Where was Calvin?My sympathies were with Prof. Scruton, and I thought I might buy the book, but I came away sad that perhaps the greatest contributor to Western civilisation didn't get a mention. I refer to John Calvin. It was Calvin (along with the other Reformers) whose powerful ministry led to the idea that men are to be ruled neither by the divine right of kings nor the ex-cathedra authority of the Pope. Each man is to be individually ruled by his own interpretation of the Word of God. Neither the king nor the Pope can make him believe or obey that which the Word of God does not allow. Thus, the priesthood of all believers (the biblical doctrine of the Christian man's responsibility) is released from the Word and out into the cottages, communities and culture of the nation. It's a short step from the priesthood of all believers to the democratisation of society. It's fair to say, in my view, that democracy owes more to Calvin than to any other single factor. Power belongs in the hand of the individual conscience which in turn is to be submitted to the Word of God. The common man in Christ is part of a kingdom of priests and has a right and a responsibility to exercise his power for the good of his family and the well-being of the nation. It was this freedom of thought (captive to biblical revelation) that the Pilgrim Fathers took to the new world. It was this Calvinistic mindset that gave them a grand vision for liberty, fraternity and equality which in turn gave birth, eventually, to the notion of 'one nation under God'. Of course, when a nation loses its attachment to biblical influence (as defined by the Reformers) it will also lose its ability to be that kind of nation-state that Prof. Scruton longs for. It's hard to keep the house upright when you've dug out the foundations. John Tindall,
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