Era of the West is over

It seems in these times of financial crisis that the era of the West is over, while the era of the East is dawning. De Volkskrant newspaper nevertheless argues that Europe need not fear Asia. "Freedom of thought and action have made enormous strides here in the West. That has enabled the West to maintain a leading edge since the Enlightenment, because they are simply indispensable. By contrast a society with a thought police will encounter insurmountable obstacles, even if this police only looks inwards. That goes for both China and India. ... The inability to engage in open discussion for fear of losing face makes China far more vunerable in times of crisis than Europe or America, because there is no official outlet for dissatisfaction. That shows very clearly the limits of the authoritarian Asian model."

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