There's no qualifying adjective needed, it's just 'civilization'.
Progressives have developed (the phrase) 'Western Civilization' in order to treat all groups as though their contributions to global development were on some sort of parity.
But.. the 'eastern civilization', namely, ancient China ('the'), did develop the very original meritocracy that was co-opted quite effectively in the west.
- reader #1482
While this posting discusses the Spanish political crisis, a similar issue exists in America.
If one side is allowed to play by any rules it selects, then it can effectively select the rules that ensures only its victory.
If the only goal is power, then who reigns in the powerful?
Spain does have a monarchy, so they have *at least* a chance.
The USA has ... a bureaucracy intent on self preservation and expansion.
Spain is experiencing the same cultural devolution that pervades most of the West. Most of Europe has entered a post Christian, neo pagan era where a majority or near majority of the population has embraced hedonistic decadence. Nationalism, love of country, heritage, borders, legacy mean little to people who at their core care little or ridicule such concepts. It is nearly impossible to have a consensus when there are no real commonly held political values to unite a people. The result is a withering society, a very low birth rate and the ultimate transformation by determined migrants.
This is a very old problem. The union of Castille and Aragon that created modern Spain was very unequal: Castille got most of the political power even though Aragon (including Barcelona) was larger (included Sicily and Naples) and far richer. There were several attempts by Barcelona and other Spanish cities to rein in the power of the Spanish crown or separate by civil war. France acquired trans-Pyrenees Spain (Perpignan) because it assisted the monarchy in suppressing Catalonia. These historical divisions were exacerbated by Catalonia’s heavier industrialization, comparative greater income, and greater secularization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
You may call this a "meritocracy" I call it a recipe for unrest and endless wars. Which is exactly what happened.
I was in Madrid the week before when all this started. The impressive thing was that it was hundreds of thousands of just average Spaniards of all ages, not student activists or really political people.
The thing that stuns me is that the media outside of Spain is totally ignoring it.
Also, one thing that nobody mentions is that Spaniards are not only demanding that Sanchez step down, but are also chanting “España es cristiana, no es musulmana”. The socialists are extremely anti -Christian and support unlimited illegal immigration from Muslim countries. The area with the highest percentage is Catalonia.
Sanchez just “recognized” the “State of Palestine,” btw, so he’s just doubling down.
I think the King should act.
Every time I see “parliament” and “coalition” there’s trouble afoot.
Perhaps the system is vulnerable.
Not that Basque and Catalan speaking people are troublemaking newcomers, they’ve been around forever. But that’s just it, they’re still unassimilated.
Furthermore they’re in the economically powerful regions. Spain’s almost an Australia in miniature, rather empty in the interior.
Portugal managed to become separate and sovereign, without destroying Spain. Catalonia could do the same, but not with leftist agitation guiding it.
An old saying comes to mind: if you can’t defend it, it ain’t yours.