Rod Hay wrote:
>
> Mat. How do you identify eurocentrism? In my experience, in most cases,
> all it indicates is that the person throwing the epithet, doesn't like
> what is being said but can't articulate a rational argument
against it.
Eurocentrism does not racism make. Eurocentrism is a set of beliefs
derived from empirical facts, some of which are true. Racism is not
based on any empirical evidence and writers who attempt to give it
empirical foundations write clear and obvious rubbish. Eurocentrism is
above all a type of scholarship &science that says, to put it crudely,
everything good about the world starts in Europe and flows to the
outside (this includes socialism). Societies outside Europe which are
successful, to the extent
that they are successful, are only successful in so far as they have
been able to ape Europe. I'd say the locus classicus here is W.W.
Rostow. Was he racist? Probably. Was Weber racist? Highly
contentious.OTOH, Eurocentric theories such as
environmental or geographic determinism are not racist because they put
the crucial determinants into things that are independent of
consciousness like soil and weather, implying that if non-European areas
had the same environent and climate they would have "taken off" too,
albeit in a different way.
Jim Blaut in his book *The Colonizer's Model of the World* gives a
partial list
of what he takes to be core eurocentric theories. I hope he doesn't mind
me reproducing it here.
1. The Neolithic Revolution-- the invention of agriculture and the
beginnings of a settled way of life for humanity-- occurred in the
Middle East (or bible lands). This view was unopposed before 1930, and
is still the majority view.
2. The second major step in cultural evolution towards modern
civilization, the emergence of the earliest states, cities, organized
religions, writing sytems, division of labor and the like, was taken in
the Middle East.
3. The Age of Metals began in the Middle East. Ironworking was invented
in the Middle East or eastern Europe and the "Iron Age" first appeared
in Europe.
4.Monotheism appeared first in the MIddle East.
5. Democracy was invented in Europe (in ancient Greece).
6. Likewise most of pure science, mathematics, philosophy, history and
geography.
7. Class society and class struggle emerged first in the Greco-Roman
region.
8. The Roman Empire was the first great imperial state. Romans invented
bureacracy, law and so on.
9. The next great stage in social evolution, feudalism, was developed in
Europe, with Frenchmen taking the lead.
10.Europeans invented a host of technological traits in the Middle Ages
which gave them superiority over non-europeans.
11. Europeans invented the modern state.
12. Europeans invented capitalism.
13. Europeans, uniquely "venturesome", were the great explorers
"discoverers" etc.
14. Europeans invented industry and created the Industrial revolution.
p7-8.
Sam Pawlett
