Great Divergence  

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The Great Divergence, coined by Samuel Huntington (also known as the European miracle, a term coined by Eric Jones in 1981), refers to the process by which the Western world (i.e. Western Europe and the parts of the New World where its people became the dominant populations) during the Modern period (16th to 19th centuries) clearly emerged as the most powerful world civilization, eclipsing the Islamic empires (the Ottoman Empire, Mughal India), Tokugawa Japan, and Qing China. The process was accompanied and reinforced by the Age of Discovery and the subsequent rise of the colonial empires, the Age of Enlightenment, the Commercial Revolution, the Scientific Revolution and finally the Industrial Revolution. The Great Divergence was affected by several factors, including technology, industrialization and economics, politics and leadership, and specific ideologies.

Technological advances in railroads, steamboats, mining, and agriculture were embraced to a higher degree in the West than the East during the Great Divergence. High wages in the West caused businesses to focus efforts on engineering labor-saving machinery, while the East continued to rely on their sources of cheap labor. Shifts in government policy from interventionist mercantilism to laissez faire helped western development, while a shift from traditional confucianism to interventionist policies under the Qing Dynasty greatly restricted Chinese industrial development. Technology led to increased industrialization and economic complexity in the areas of agriculture, trade, fuel and resources, further separating the East and the West. Europe’s industrial advantages allowed it to surpass the East. Europe's use of coal as an energy substitute for wood in the mid-1800s gave Europe a major head start in modern energy production. On the other hand, China did not begin to use coal in large-scale industry until the 20th century. The West also had the advantage of larger quantities of raw materials and a substantial trading market. China and Asia did participate in trading, however colonization brought a distinct advantage to the West.

Politics and leadership, a staple in almost every country at the time of the Great Divergence, were influenced and executed in distinct manners in both the East and the West. Political ideas and lack thereof warranted either progression into the modern world, regression, or no change at all. Strong countries like Great Britain set the model for representative governments in the West. On the other hand, Japan, with its retention of traditional values and incorporation of western views was a model for countries in the East. Other countries of interest include France, Spain, China, and the Netherlands.

The most important ideologies include Laissez-faire, mercantilism, Confucianism, and materialism. Ideologies influenced government policies and social altitudes. Laissez-faire, an economic ideology, was created during the Industrial Revolution as a belief that trade and economics should exist without government interference. Materialism illustrated a shift towards secular thinking. Confucianism, dominant in China for millenia, stressed that every class of society should behave in accordance with moral standards and rules and was largely opposed to state interference. Mercantilism, an ideology dominant before the rise of classical liberalism, which promoted interventionist policies such as protectionism, state monopolies, and high taxes which allegedly brought economic benefits.

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