Western civilization started out in the levant and fertile crescent, then spread out to persia and greece and to rome, the later of which we tend to recognize the most because of how much of it’s literature survived. It was dominated by war and tyrants building empires that spread much like the plagues, but that along with trade was responsible for the cross influences of the cultures. I’m not anti-Catholic, I promise, but it’s hard to argue that it wasn’t at least partially responsible for the dark ages. I am also not pro ‘enlightenment’ or industry, but I think you can either credit the renaissance as the start of modern western culture, or at least was a symptom of it’s beginnings. In fact, for all it’s faults in ignorant/uneducated servantile populations and poor general health, there’s probably something to say for the bucolic life compared to where we are heading now... but I digress as I always worry about sounding a little too much Kascinski, but as someone who in youth embraced the leading edges of technology, I have grown disenchanted and the spell is broken. These are more likely to become chains on the people, not tools for freedom.
If by Western Civilization, you refer to the moral transformation caused by Christianity (something the Catholic church had a strong influence on), that is something I would not argue with, but that is something that has been on the slow decline for 500 years and quickly accelerating.
You make some great points. It really is a complex problem. It’s in our nature not only to do good, but also to screw things up.
Good vs evil…
The West, in terms of science, technology, business, finance and politics really begins with The Enlightenment.
Adam Smith, for example, was a philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment. John Locke was one of the most influential thinkers of The Enlightenment.