THE WEST MUST START LIVING UP TO ITS IDEALS / THE FINANCIAL TIMES COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS ( A MUST READ )

The west must start living up to its ideals

By Dominique Moïsi

Published: August 3 2010 22:45

The fall of Lehman Brothers nearly two years ago and the more recent near-collapse of the euro mark a new chapter of history, one entitled “the post-western world”. To understand what it means to live in such a world, we must first look back to the pre-western one, before Britain conquered India and before China went into decline. This was followed by more than two centuries in which the west lived next to an “other” it considered inferior. That period is now over.

Demographers predict that the US and Europe will represent only 12 per cent of the population of the planet by 2050. In short, the “other” is now our equal. Indeed, he is our superior in many fields; from his appetite to succeed, to his determined confidence in his future. We must now ask ourselves what emerging powers can teach us, and not only what we can teach them.

There were, of course, other periods when civilisations met as equals. Consider, for example, the Republic of Venice in its relations with the Ottomans in the 16th century. Or read the travel memoirs of Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit priest in the Chinese Empire of the 16th century. Or think of the British in India, in the early years of the East India Company, before they exploited the weakness of the Mughal empire to start their own. In each of these cases, the mutual respect that existed between the two powers was based on a mixture of empathy and curiosity. But it was this sense of equilibrium between different civilisations that disappeared first with the rise of European imperialism, and then with the start of the American century.

Now, as we near the third anniversary of that dramatic day in August 2007 when the world became aware of the fragility of the western banking model, we in the west must again rethink the way we relate to others in the world. When doing so we cannot ignore the fact that Asia and the west are at different stages of development. China and India may now be enjoying the height of their booming growth, before they yield to structural problems. Yet, that their difficulties lie ahead should not lead us to complacency. The shift in the global balance of power should be greeted neither with denial (the American way) nor with soul-searching (the European). For this moment constitutes a considerable challenge, but also a unique opportunity, for the western world.

Our comparative advantages in this new world are not demographic, military, financial or economic. Instead they lie in the realm of ideas and ideals; of democracy, the rule of law and a respect for human rights that remains largely unique. This is fortunate, because for the first time in recent history a new world power, China, has come to the forefront of global politics without a universal message, while also being in clear denial of the international responsibility that comes with its new status.

By contrast, our universal message can be the western world’s competitive advantage. For this to happen, however, our tarnished brand of capitalism has to regain the moral high ground. At the end of the 18th century the beginning of western supremacy coincided with the Enlightenment, a movement based on the idea of progress and the emancipation of human beings from prejudice, superstition and the assertions of established religions. Today, a new Enlightenment must begin with a modernisation, and therefore a moralisation, of capitalism.

In a world where we will soon be relatively few, our goal must be to become a niche of excellence. Today this model of excellence is most visible in the “northern lights” of Scandinavia, where power is modest and honest, where women play a major role in society, where a human brand of capitalism is practised, and where respect towards migrants is the rule. This is clearly not the model followed in the US. But neither is it the model of Nicolas Sarkozy or Silvio Berlusconi, and in this France and Italy are both failing to live up to Europe’s enlightened ideals.

The time has come to realise that we live beyond our means in material terms, and well below our means both intellectually and spiritually. So western powers have to reinvent themselves, but with one major consideration in mind: that for all the fears that have come with the rise of Asia, their future ultimately depends on what lies within.

The writer is a senior adviser at France’s Institute for International Relations. His latest book is The Geopolitics of Emotion

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010