May Western centrism's end bode well for an inclusive world

Whether the concept of the West has truly met its demise, as international discourse often suggests these days, may require further observation. Recent global developments have undoubtedly put to the test the long-controversial idea of Western centrism. This is no bad omen for building a more inclusive and balanced world.

The Munich Security Conference earlier this year was a defining moment, triggering a wave of European lamentations over what the media called the funeral of the West. Headlines proclaimed US leader's speech in Munich as "marking the collapse of the transatlantic alliance".

The emerging historical rift is unmistakable. Whether in terms of practical interests or values, the divide between Europe and the US is undeniable and unlikely to heal. Some form of parting of ways is inevitable. Europe, the less autonomous side of the transatlantic alliance, is seen as the first casualty of the West's decline, marking the end of an 80-year era in which the US reigned supreme as the leader of the West.

For the East, there is no need to gloat over the West's fragmentation. Yet the demise of Western centrism is a welcome development. The shift in transatlantic relations may bring complex repercussions for the world, but the eventual fading of Western centrism amid this rupture is something historically progressive. If the West in its traditional sense ceases to exist, Western centrism must inevitably meet its end, a potential unintended consequence of the "Make America Great Again" agenda.

Western centrism, as a modern ideological trend, got its name only in the last century. However, it was rooted in the historical fact that Europe and North America were the first to complete the Industrial Revolution, followed by the global expansion of capitalism. Over centuries, the geographical West gradually assumed a central position in the modern world economy and international system, playing a dominant role in humanity's transition to industrial civilization and modernization, albeit through a process shrouded in the bloody and sordid darkness of colonialism.

Throughout history, regions and cultures have tended to construct their conceptual communities based on their own circumstances as the center. Yet this generally remained at the level of a centripetal social consciousness rather than evolving into a centrism. The rise of the West, though brief in historical terms, allowed the ideology later known as Western centrism to establish a hegemonic discourse under the guise of advanced industrial civilization, positioning itself as the benchmark for judging progress and backwardness, civilization and barbarism.

In recent times, a reverse shift has become increasingly evident. From 1750 to 1900, the West's share of global manufacturing output surged from less than one-fourth to over four-fifths, reflecting its ascent as the world's economic center. However, according to International Monetary Fund data, in 2023, emerging and developing economies accounted for 58.9 percent of global GDP, 7.6 percent higher than in 2008, when they first surpassed advanced economies.

The Western model of modernization, once held up as a global exemplar, has lost its luster, increasingly lacking appeal and persuasiveness. In a sense, the current US administration's economic and trade policies amount to a public confession of the US' development failure and governance crisis, one in which the world is being asked to foot the bill. If the rise of the Global South underscores the West's gradual retreat from the center of the global economy, the collapse of the Washington Consensus completes the crumbling of Western centrism.

The binary opposition between the West and the non-West lies at the core of Western centrism. It elevates the West above the rest of the world seen as the "other" while serving as an ideological weapon for the Westernization of the globe. Yet, as Cairo-born globalization expert and political economist Samir Amin observed, Western centrism has led the world into a profound predicament, and the international community bears the shared duty to break its intellectual and cognitive shackles.

Clinging to Western centrism in a changed world is philosophically regressive and pragmatically unwise as well as unfeasible. Of course, there is no need for it to be replaced by "Eastern centrism" or any new hegemony. The convergence and coexistence of diverse civilizations through mutual learning is an unstoppable trend.

The eventual exit of Western centrism from the historical stage should provide new opportunities for the progress of human civilization. Whether the world moves toward a multi-civilizational, multi-multipolar and multi-multilateral framework, as some commentators predict, remains to be seen, but it is a prospect worth anticipating.

The author is chief researcher at the China Watch Institute, China Daily.