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Key to the Dominance of Western Civilization:
The Six (6) Killer Apps
Dr. Niall Ferguson, Harvard University
What are the Killer Apps?
What set the West apart from the rest of the world? These six functional complexes, or "killer applications" led the West's rise to global dominance.
COMPETITION
European decentralization fostered the growth of political and economic competition, birthing the nation-state and the rise of capitalism.
Timeline: China and the West 1368-1842Discussion: A Culture without Competition
SCIENCE
While eastern Muslim powers slowed scientific progress in their own region, the Christian West advanced militarily and academically.
Timeline: The West and The Ottoman Empire 1515-1923Discussion: Science and Religion
PROPERTY
Widespread land ownership and its ties to the democratic process gave the United States a more productive, stable footing than its neighbors to the south.
Map: American Expansion – U.S.A. and Gran ColombiaDiscussion: The Importance of Land Ownership
MODERN MEDICINE
Developed and shared throughout colonial outposts in Africa and elsewhere, Western medicine has the power to double life expectancy.
Book Excerpt: Médecins sans FrontièresDiscussion: Life without Modern Medicine
CONSUMERISM
The 20th century witnessed a new model of civilization centered around consumption, as American goods and fashion carried the message of Western freedom.
Book Excerpt: Turning WesternDiscussion: Western Clothing
WORK ETHIC
Protestantism in America stressed hard work, saving, and literacy. Yet today while Americans save less and fewer Europeans attend church, there are around 40 million or more Protestants in China.
Book Excerpt: Word Ethic & Work EthicDiscussion: Evolution of the American Work Ethic
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