Islamic Civilization 6 (combination of a large landowner and a large merchant's network )

The Islam civilization has gotten completion of classic civilization around the 9th century. Efficiency power in the history of Islam: It seems that development of the 2nd principle (principle of the improvement in a life) probably developed into the unequal time of the Umayyad Caliphate greatly. As a result of the power, non-Arab influence gained power, Arab influence was driven out, and the Abbas dynasty was formed. Social-structure power of Abbaid Caliphate : Although it was constituted by the large merchant, the bureaucrat, and the large landowner and caliph existed as these intermediaries, the 3rd principle (principle of community development) oppressed the large merchant and the bureaucrat at the time of Haloun al Rashid, and accomplished the change. However, al Rashid's governing  finished in several years after that.

 

Even if we compares Islamic civilization with the China civilization and the India civilization, it might be vast, probably completion might not come, either, but it is said that it broke up outside ignited by confusion of the center of Iraq. The way of being scattered is considered that the network was used. The form also resembled India. In India, Mahayanist Buddhism spread from the southern part (Nagarjuna) to Southeast Asia (this time was not the spread of only Theravada), and spread from the northern part to China.

 

It was because the southern part and the northern part were the frontier areas in India, and the center of Hindustan was in another situation. In the case of India, religious (Hinduism) power was borrowed for re-unification, but in Islamic civilization, it became what was depended on the power of Mumluk (Turk slave soldier) instead of religious power in Islamic civilization.

 

Probably the agricultural productivity increased by the area, or decreased, and there was no telling whether commerce developed as the whole civilization area before and after the Abbaid Caliphate. As compared with China, development of agriculture and commerce collapsed　Equal-field system(the So-Yo-Cho tax system) in the middle of Tang, it shifted to Liang-shui-fa, and the triangle of the large landowner, the bureaucrat, and the large merchant was soon formed in Song dynasty.

 

Although tax law became complicated focusing on the simple tax law from the former, Jizya, and Kharaj in Islam to it, there was no tax law in particular about commerce. For this reason, although the commercial route was extended to Russia, Central Asia, India, and Africa centering on Baghdad, it seems that the center moved from Baghdad to Cairo and Fustat, and trade area expanded it. Therefore, the social structure power of the Islamic civilization was considered the social structure power of combination of a large landowner and a large merchant's network (not being a triangle of a landowner, a merchant, and a bureaucrat like China) or caliph and a bureaucrat was relatively weak  and army was separated.

 

Although this phenomenon was a conclusion after Barmaki family suppression, when  saw as Islam civilization, and seeing from external civilization, the Islam civilization (from the 9th century to the 11th century) became weak on military. The India civilization was getting weak from the inside and China was also violated by the nomadic people then (Five Dynasties and Ten kingdoms period). Islamic civilization reacted to the crusade from Europe. Although the crusade was opposed harnessing a network although it was separated (Seljuq dynasty, Fatimid Caliphate), finally the Abbaid Caliphate was ruined in the Mongolia Empire extended by the same method (horse riding and merchant) as Islamic civilization.

 

 

value (caliph): being weak in Islamic civilization --  based on the 1st principle (principle of value), and commerce -- efficiency power: the 2nd principle (principle of the improvement in a life), and social structure power: the 3rd principle (principle of community development) was determined. There were two phenomena considered from that. A fast change of a production system was not produced in this organization. With commerce, concentration of capital was not rather produced. Although it had trouble in private, since the Islam civilization did not have being attacked by the powerful foreign enemy for a while, it did not need to be unified. Islamic civilization differed at the point based on commerce to civilization of China or India based on agriculture.

 

the weak accepted value (Islam Sunni Muslims) is kept long .  commerce has been long  efficiency power.  Europe civilization had a difference in that the 2nd principle (principle of the improvement in a life) and social structure power:3rd principle (principle of community development)" were regulated. Moreover, unlike India or China, trade was not decayed in order to maintain social structure power.

All rights reserved to M Ariake

 

Islamic Civilization 5 ( Sunni, Shia and other civilizations)

Discovery of the world system in Islamic civilization has been considered. Although confrontation of Christianity and Islam also has the reason why the Europe civilization dislikes Islamic civilization, both were essentially network civilization and it seems that it is because it was deep to have got to know each other involving a market and trade. And it was connected to the discovery of the world system which Wallerstein says to which it would be the 15th century and a situation where Europe was driven into the time of the Ottoman Empire, and "Portugal and Spain" in the tip part of the Europe civilization advance to the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Power with an external opportunity to the world system of Islamic civilization: It was not based on the 5th principle (an environmental principle and an external principle), Social-structure power: It was based on the 3rd principle (principle of community development), and it seems in contention of the influence centering on caliph and a large merchant's influence in the Saracen Empire that it has produced.

 

In this way, if Islamic civilization is seen, the strong influence of Persia in Islamic civilization, such as Barmaki family and Al Ghazali*, would be seen. It passed Achaemenes and Sassanids -- in the Abbaid Caliphate have realized the true idea (equal ity between believers) of Islam, and it could be called the relation of the width in Islam.

Pursuit came also out of Sufi's appearance which was started in the time of the Abbaid Caliphate about coincidence (relation of the length in Islam) of God and faith.

 

 * The thinker of the Islam mysticism called second Muhammad, Tus native of Iran

 

In the place stabilized also in the Islamic civilization area, with time, it increased, class specialization arose and competition produced productivity for every area. However, in order that an equal principle might work to some extent in the case of Islamic civilization, the complicated class system did not progress like India. However, it was not necessarily practical civilization like China. In a meaning called spiritualism, it seems that it was closer to India than China. Therefore, although political power developed rather than India, it was not as China, it was not about religious use as India (since it seems that there was political development in the society which pursues spiritual value rather than practical value), but the form used to some extent was taken. The political power in the Islamic civilization area can be seen in Buyid dynasty, Seljug Dynasty, Fatima Caliphate, Ayyubid Sultanate, and Mumluk Sultanate .

 

 The basis of the existence of political power could be guessed by whether it was the time when the "history book" was written. The society in which the human being who reads a history book is present is because political capability is needed also for the ruler side.

About religion, Sunni Muslims declined by the Abbaid Caliphate, and mysticism Sufi has appeared. In circumference , the feature might be at the point that the Shia has gained strength, simultaneously with it. Although Buyid and Fatima were the Shia, possibly it was for this also weakening the Abbaid Caliphate. Then, in Ayyubid Sultanate (Kurd government)and Seljug dynasty (Turk government), it returned to Sunni Muslims .

 

Social-structure power of the Islam civilization: The power of the 3rd principle (principle of community development) was not so political as China. Moreover, it was not so religious as India. In China, Han absorbed powerful clan's representation, and Sui absorbed the bureaucrat to politics or administration by capability. In India, the executive official of the Gupta dynasty was a Brahman. Although fruition of Islamic classic civilization was made in the Abbaid Caliphate to it, Islamic civilization is the civilization made by the religion and materialized by union of the bureaucrat of Persia and  Arab on political side. In such meaning, the feature differs also from the classic civilization of Europe. The classic civilization of Europe was decentralized on authority compared with Islamic civilization, and the religion of the Europe civilization was close to it of India. In the Europe civilization, Germanic peoples utilized organization of the Christian church as an administration bureaucrat.

 

The spiritualism of India and the Europe classic civilization was synthesis and maturity, the spiritualism of the Islamic classic civilization to Abbaid Caliphate was intuition and a rebirth, and spiritualism had a difference. Although a young religion has politics and an undifferentiated point, the religion which grew old has tended to specialize with politics. Introversion and escape might be the remarkable features of civilization of declining and dying. Although Europe was also becoming so, neither invasion of a repeated races nor Islamic pressure brought about coma * like India.

* India had time considerably from the heyday of the Gupta dynasty to an Islamic invasion (invasion of  Ghaznavids).

All rights reserved to M Ariake

 

Islamic Civilization 4 ( Economic development of Islamic civilization)

It did not induce individual rise conversely and a state did not determine the indicator of faith about the contents of faith, but the specialist decided the indicator. In spite of having accumulated information and knowledge from the geographical position and having seen the bud of scientific development, possibly it became an obstacle in order to absorb the Occidental which developed civilization after that. Speaking of the contents of civilization, compared with the time of Hundred Schools of thought in China civilization , the frame of the dispute was very mental, and, probably, it should be said that the width is wider compared with the India civilization. In the background of "rise of commerce or Mumluk", Sufi has appeared against stiffness of the fine religious custom by Sunni Muslims.

 

It turns out that religious development and the direction of influence surpassed more than politics also in Islamic civilization (economy was the same as that of development). It seems that it was pursuit of a certain meaning and the "freedom" of the Islamic civilization style.

 

the commercial bases moving to Egypt which was a southern part and was also a Byzantine base, and an eastern part (Samanid Empire), it entered the mitotic period, and in the time of the Seljug dynasty, Mesopotamia returned to the center again and bloomed. However, the generalization by Hinduism like the Gupta era of India did not arise in the Islamic civilization area, and was not used for government. As for one mystery of Islamic civilization, although the cosmopolitan that commercial empire was built in the Abbaid Caliphate age, probably, the civilization has declined externally comparatively early. Although the peak was invited to Harun al Rashid era and it declined after that, the rich family whom three generation of Islamic civilization follows  did not accept as a cause, but often confiscated property. It is not considered by the not much satisfactory reason although having changed from " Khurasan army which was the center of early military " to " Mumluk army constituted by the slave" was raised.

 

The rich family escaped and the army disunited the Saracen Empire. When this phenomenon was seen in the form which was different for a while, this is one hypothesis, but didn't the large merchant who was not permitted continuation of property distribute caliph's power and the power of the army as a result?

 

By the Atta system, the head of the army corps was given the salary with money, and had left the influence for expansion of an army corps in the first half of the Abbaid Caliphate. The Islamic economic bloc spread as a result. And the tax system of the Saracen Empire consisted  given of poll tax and land tax, and it was seldom imposed on commerce at the beginning. It changed to Iqta system which grants the power of collecting a tax from the payroll system by the weakened Abbaid Caliphte. It seems Social-structure power of Iqta system: That the influence of the 3rd principle (principle of community development) changed with places. The successful place, the place which went wrong.

 

Even if tax could not be collected to center and it could not give a salary, property and its price existed for every area. It had a feeling that all were not in such a situation even if Iqta system reduced the agricultural product by simplistic exploitation . Otherwise, Iqta system would not be performed widely so long.

 

Ruin (803 years) of Barmaki family * in the Abbaid Caliphate and rise of Mamluk following it have a point similar to the French Louis XIV era. In the Abbaid Caliphate, golden days were Harun al Rashid era, and Harun al Rashid died in several years after Barmaki family ruin (809 years). Huguenot who was economically strong was made to transfer to Britain or the Netherlands by Louis XIV's direct Imperial government, and there were some similar points -- having brought about development of those places and a repeated war ruined national finance and made the lower class gain power.

 

In the Abbid empire, unlike France, preservation of a large merchant's property would be achieved in the network in an empire, property was moved to Iran, Central Asia, or Egypt, and probably it would became Samanid Empire, and  became  Fatimid Caliphate. The slave was offered by Samanid Empire to the Abbaid Caliphate and Buyid dynasty, and the center of the Mesopotamia got confused. The power of the caliph who had power in the empire was stripped, and the political power of Abbaid Caliphate  which a military man apeared so much also declined. It is a point which is interested in how people who were in the surroundings of the Barmaki family which went to ruin, and large merchants acted.

 

 * Yahya ibn Khalid of Barmaki family was an Iranian, and was a native of Balkh.

Although the sons became the prime minister etc. and being reached to an extreme of power, it was oppressed by Harun al Rashid in 803.

 

 All rights reseved to M Ariake

Islamic Civilization 3 ( feature of Islamic civilization )

Although completion of the classic civilization in Islam was made by the Abbaid Caliphate, it was said that completed classic Islamic civilization was made religious, it was un-hierarchical and commerce developed. Although the Abbaid Caliphate  declined by a budget deficit and the military man's separation-ization, for a large merchant, it might be having been in the desirable situation rather. It was because the cosmopolitan large merchant could acquire the power of moving things so that he might like if religious authority and common authority became weak.

 

While migration of a large merchant went to Damascus and Cairo from Baghdad and from disorder of the peace in the Abbaid Caliphate , Thurman continued supplying a slave. Islamic civilization repeated division and integration, invited the golden age to the time of the Ottoman Empire, Safavid dynasty, and the Mogul Empire soon, and was entwined by the net of the world system of the Europe civilization after that.

 

However, the vigor of Islamic civilization affected the turning of India civilization, and the absorption of the Mongolia Empire by Islamic civilization also had it, and it also affected local classic China civilization. 

 

Ming chosen shutting a country, after carrying out temporary demonstration activities (cruising of Cheng Ho). Probably, Ming thought that it was impossible in national power. There was such a realistic point in the China civilization apart from an idea. National isolation of Japan was called phenomenon which was on the extension. It seems that national isolation of Japan might be materialized when China continued existing not as  state which had intention to a sea  but as state which have intention to an inland (the China civilization spread to Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolian in the time of Qing in the meantime). Anyway, although the  Islamika time . And possibly a kind of world system by this Islamic civilization was before the present cosmopolitan's time. Possibly it was the time which was moving by large merchants' (an Armenian, a Jew, the people from Greece, the people from Persia (Sogdians), an Egyptian, the south Indian) trade, and possibly was the time when the world sovereign (sultan) and the sovereign (caliph) of divine right were led by it. However, in the world system of Islamic civilization, it seems that it remained in the stage of commodity production related to agricultural output. As a reason for having stopped there, it might be that there was an Islamic merchant's parasitism .

 

 

 3 The easy sketch by five principles.

 

Before the British Industrial Revolution  " social structure power:3rd principle (principle of community development)" -- " it seems that there was any innovative power rather than efficiency power:2nd principle (principle of the improvement in life)."

 

About Islamic civilization, it turns out that it was like the flow of a big river to which many civilizations joined, and the base of civilization has been formed of that. And probably, it was just going to differ from the China civilization or the India civilization. that commerce, information, and the network of circulation were the important points of civilization beyond farming. It seems that there was the special feature of the civilization materialized by connecting widely the agricultural zone here and there with Islamic civilization unlike the civilization materialized against the background of a vast agricultural area like China or India.

 

And Islamic civilization established not from systematization by blood relatives like the China civilization but from the umma (systematization by a religion community), and was systematization by Arab (rule race) at the beginning. However, the domination and relation was loose and priority was rather given to the direction of systematization by religion. The religion which justifies it developed comparatively gently. That may have suggested that the society in Islamic civilization was comparatively simple. Probably caste and religion developed intricately in India, a ceremony became complicated conversely .

 

Islam formed the Koran and Hadith in the time of Umayyad Caliphate, and religion was systematized. Then, when it became the Abbaid Caliphate , rule of Arab was denied and  the Abbaid Caliphate approached the world of the idea of the Koran rather. The state still carried out the method of development that did not decide the indicator of faith but each sect determined the contents of faith. Although Islam generalized and carried out order of a life at large, a state did not necessarily determine the contents. Although the Islamic civilization of the time of generating was also political, it seems that there was the special feature of the civilization which had placed religion above politics. Although a life at large was generalized in such meaning, it differed from the Gupta dynasty of India where the state determined the contents. Although soul and the world had similarly separated, it differed also from the Europe civilization the contents of faith were decided by the unified church organization (Catholic)in Europe.

Islamic Civilization ２ ( Islam cosmopolitan progress)

Islam spreads in Southeast Asia through the prosperous trade in Fatima, Ayyubid Sultanate, and Mamluk Sultanate which made Cairo the base. Moslemization of the direction of India also progressed including Thurman simultaneously. It seems that this shows cosmopolitan Islam character. Cosmopolitan means the thought and philosophy in which people believes them  even if who will become a rule class. It seems that the universal essence will be in the point which was the civilization centering on the network of a simple religion and trade as the mosque and the market had stood. Although that the Arab race marched quickly has that the army corps of Arab was also sturdy, it may excel in utilizing and using the network of information.

 

Although the value in Islamic civilization had very strong influence, compared with India, Islamic civilization was cosmopolitan. For this reason, the character which allowed  change or innovation had the young vitality which accepted fusion rather at the beginning. It was because Sassanids Persia and the Byzantine Empire were farther  developed than an Arab race when said from a viewpoint of material civilization. Arrangement of the Koran, Hadith (Muhammad's memoir), etc. was advanced and the legitimacy of their political power was improved in the Umayyad Caliphate or a life at large was interpreted in Islam in the time of the Abbaid Caliphate, and get stiff. Apart from it, it was also the time when Mumluk, Sufi, and a merchant gained power.

 

It was rise of new influence and was the atmosphere similar to the Buddhism birth previous night of India. In Islamic civilization, not like birth of a new religion but like the appearance of the Shia and Sufi, the large frame did not break but religion carried out new change. Although the new influence (Sufi's bearer) which consisted of small tradesmen was these bearers, it seems whether since Islam was the small tradesman's religion from the first, it had the possibility of development as a stoic religion. there was the union "Mumluk (Turk slave soldier), a large merchant, and Sunni Muslims" at the center of the network in the Islamic civilization area, to it -- social structure power: -- it was the 3rd principle (principle of community development).

 

Persia Islamic civilization (the Iran Isram civilization) developed in Iran, became a citadel of the Shia and developed into Safaviddynasty. And India was located in the east. If it was Persia Islam *, the India civilization has also still cooperated, but in Aurangzeb's (Great Mogul) rigid Sunni Muslims , India was not able to get used at all. The Mongolia Empire which has developed on the basis of "a network of information and commerce" merely appeared suddenly in the meantime. Although a sect of the Mongolia Empire who ruined the Abbaid Caliphate became Il Khan, Islam was easily taken in after cataclysmic collapse. Kipchak Khan was also the same and so was Chaghatai Khan before the Timur empire at this point. Although semu of the Western Regions were appointed to a position of a trust for the "yuan" of China, as for the China civilization with a strong local color, Islam did not spread truly. Even if anybody was in the center of social structure, Islam functioned effectively . Islam was cosmopolitan.

 

 

Although the view which exists at the center affirms God, to God, it corresponds very briefly and it seems eternal prosperity was built focusing on the fighter, the merchant, and the critic supporting a religion norm.

 

* Prime-minister Bajram Hearn of the Shia educated and assisted the young Akbar (emperor of Mughal). 

 

This was marked contrast as compared with the medieval times of the Europe civilization. In Europe, it consisted of a fighter, a farmer, and a prayer, and the difference between a merchant and a farmer was because Islam had grasped naval supremacy. Probably, the difference between Islam and Europe was related to that the merchant has been gradually born from the farmer in Europe, that the fighter got interested in trade, a farmer, a merchant, and a fighter referring to reality, and they have come to have a question in the critic supporting a norm. That is, the merchant who was one of the main influence from the beginning of Islamic civilization might be that the point which was a parasitic existence was the difference from the Europe civilization. This may be a problem which hangs around Islamic civilization.

All rights reserved to M Ariake

Islamic Civilization 1 (image that the flows of the big rivers are put together )

second exhibition room    Islamic civilization

  

1 The flow of Islamic civilization

 

 Mesopotamian civilization, Egyptian civilization, Hyksos, Hittites, Babylonia,　Assyria, The 4 kingdoms ages, Achaemenes Persia,  Hellenism dynasties, Parthia, Byzantine Empire and Sassanids Persia, Umayyad Caliphate, Abbaid Caliphate, Buyid dynasty , Seljuq dynasty, Fatimid Caliphate, Ayyubid Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate  Ilkhanate, Timurid empire, Ottoman Empire, Safavid dynasty and Qajar dynasty

 

 There is an image that the flows of the big rivers are put together in Islamic civilization. Mesopotamian civilization and Egyptian civilization were before Islamic civilization, and these brought unification called Assyria, Achaemenes Persia, Parthia, and Sassanids Persia through some divisions. And the appearance of Islam came in the 7th century. Islam was the influence which surfaced in confrontation of Sassanids Persia and the Byzantine Empire.

 

The times when the sense of values was created are Hyksos, Hittites, The 4 kingdom ages, and Hellenism dynasties. Probably, Assyria, Achaemenes, and the Sassanids Persia were completed times. Civilization to which invited the appearance of Islamic civilization based on such times, and Islamic civilization was new value built on the Byzantine Empire and Sassanids Persia which got tired with long time. It was the 1st principle (principle of value)and based on the value , social structure power: -- the 3rd principle (principle of community development) was formed.

 

It seems that the essence of worth of Islamic civilization will be in brief and lucid monotheism. If existence of God is one, the faith will also be lucid, it will be clean like a desert , and money will not be spent on a religious rite. Moreover, the human being who serves does not have a difference to one God, either, and it is equal. Even if it is different ethnic groups, jizya (poll tax) is not imposed to a believer,

 

It was a view of Islam. Such jizuya was a necessary evil when forming a community, since Islam has begun from the religious group (umma) centering on Muhammad.

 

Although the structure did not change in the Umayyad Caliphate but the first principle of Arab was taken, in the Abbaid Caliphate, jizuya to a believer came to be denied also in races other than an Arab. And the people from Persia came to occupy the bureaucrat of the Abbaid Caliphate.

 

Although primal Islamic civilization was so simple, the form where it developed became more complicated than the India civilization and the China civilization. It is because Islamic civilization followed the development as cosmopolitan civilization to the civilization of India and China having been comparatively local civilization. Since the religious and hierarchical side is strong in the India civilization, that is, control by religion and class is strong, there are a tendency for history to be dragged by it, and a tendency which is not settled unlike the China civilization. China is not religious and hierarchical to it. There is also a tendency which may be settled rapidly and become excessive (an avant-garde empire like Qin or Sui was materialized).

 

It seems to it that the religious side of Islamic civilization would be strong, and the hierarchical side would be weak. Although the Islamic civilization area was divided and the settlement was not carried out after the Abbaid Caliphate , the time of expanding as a whole had come.

 

A world empire called the Abbaid Caliphate came to division soon, turned into Buyid dynasty, Seljuq dynast, Fatimid Caliphate, Ayyubid Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate, Saman, Ghazni, Safavid dynasty, Delhi Salta nut, and the Mogul Empire, and expanded in the various directions. And social-structure power: Mamluk, a Turkish slave had surfaced as a bearer of the 3rd principle (principle of community development). moreover, Iqta system * which Buyid dynasty started -- largely -- social structure power [ of Islamic society ]: -- it became a model as the 3rd principle (principle of community development).

 

* Iqta system   the system of giving territory with the right of collecting tax  instead of a military burden , however  periodical and with moving from there.  

 

European Civilization 16 ( Representative issues in European civilization: Freedom and society2)

When we think about it this way, the driving force behind European civilization is

 

     1. Freedom, democracy, aristocracy

5. Military
6. Women

 

As a relatively weak driving force,

 

2. Duality (Spirituality and Secularity)
3. Cosmopolitan and Knowledge
4. Cosmopolitanism and Industrialism
5. Duality and Separability

 

However, this is only relative, and even today, the European civilization, including America and Russia, has considerable power.

 

How should Japan deal with this? Due to its postwar historical background, Japan is on the periphery of the European civilization sphere and is under the influence of the liberal and capitalist United States.

If we include the long culture from before the war, there may be values similar to those of the core of European civilization. In other words, there is a national character that cannot be solved simply by the logic of marketism or capitalism, and there is also envy for American values. We have previously considered the content of the driving force that drives European civilization, but as Europe unites into the EU, and as the United States and Russia exert their influence on the EU, it may be possible that new forms will be given to freedom, democracy, and aristocracy. Freedom is the impact on the economy, equal opportunity based on the individual, and human capitalism, in other words, how we think about the "concept of freedom" in the EU or local era. "Democracy" is about the separation of powers and what kind of parliament we should make. "Aristocracy" may be related to how we deal with mass social phenomena, or how to thicken the middle class. These elements may be unique to Japan, but there is a high possibility that they will be born in the "laboratory" of world history that is the EU. However, in modern European civilization, "duality (spirituality and secularity)" and "duality and separation" are weaker than in past European civilizations, so it is unclear whether it will produce the same level of creativity as before, but it does seem that the current European mentality is gradually moving toward spirituality.

 

Next, regarding the military nature that is a characteristic of this civilization, Europe, even though it has fought so many wars, is more cautious and realistic about security than Japan. The EU will have its own military, and the United States and Russia may eventually join in. In other words, it will be preparing for Chinese, Indian and Islamic civilizations. In that case, it seems that Indian civilization is the one with which European civilization is most likely to link up. There is the issue of how to relate to Islamic civilization, and the question of whether Islamic civilization, the original cosmopolitan and network civilization, and its successor, the European civilization, can cooperate with each other. Islamic civilization is probably a civilization that knows the ins and outs of European civilization. In comparison, Indian and Chinese civilizations can be said to be local civilizations. Although they are both local, the reason why they are more likely to link up with Indian civilization rather than Chinese civilization is because, although European and Indian civilizations have similarities, Indian civilization is not a network civilization like Islamic civilization, and is also important geopolitically. Indian civilization is a barrier against Islamic civilization, and a barrier that can also serve as a check on the distant Chinese civilization. Therefore, it is highly likely that Islamic civilization and Chinese civilization will be linked as opposing axes, and even in the European civilization sphere, Russia may cooperate with China due to security issues in the Far East or issues in Central Asia, and may try to make China expand southward, so it may not be possible to simply group them together in the European civilization sphere. As a reaction: fourth principle (principle of reaction and internal principle), Russia may become Sinicized and Islamicized. For the same reason, it is possible that America will become Latinized as a reaction: fourth principle (principle of reaction and internal principle). In the case of America, it will not lose its European civilization, but the Anglo-Saxon elements may decrease.

 

Japan has been influenced by America in the course of history, and although it has a culture close to European civilization, it did not meet any of the seven elements of European civilization, so it is possible that the driving force behind Japan's history was something else. From now on, the influence of Chinese civilization will grow worldwide, while European civilization will unite with the EU, the US, and Russia, although there will be a reaction. This is what will maintain the hegemony of European civilization, but it seems that Japan would be better hanging on to it in a modest way. The same development will probably be seen in Indian civilization. However, perhaps European civilization, which is a cosmopolitan and networked civilization, and Islamic civilization are connected behind the scenes. If we think about it like that, the premise of our previous considerations will change. If this is the case, then cosmopolitan civilization will dominate local civilizations such as Chinese and Indian civilizations. And the trial and error in the EU may become a "model experiment toward a world government."

 

As for Japan, it may be best to basically maintain cooperation with the United States, place importance on India together with the United States, take a fair and fair approach to China and Russia, and remain neutral toward the Islamic civilization. As the center of the European civilization and an experiment in a new era, we may be able to expect an era of new ideas and an evolution of ideas from European civilization, but we cannot expect the same kind of progress as in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Therefore, the question for Japan is whether to coexist with European and Indian civilizations, or with European and Islamic civilizations. Japan may feel more comfortable in Europe and India than in the monotheistic and cosmopolitan Europe and Islam. 

                                                                                             

 

Finally, let's think about how European civilization can influence world civilization. Perhaps the only characteristic of European civilization is that it created the idea of "freedom." And when we think about where it originated, it seems to have been in Greek philosophy. Individual philosophy, democracy, and Greek classics, Greek philosophy also influenced Asia during the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods, where freedom did not blossom under despotism. Although the Roman Empire respected republicanism, it followed the path of despotism. Christianity also grew in this environment, but since Christianity first grew in what is now Turkey and Greece, it may have been Byzantium, or what is now Greek Orthodox, that was the strongest influence of original Christianity. European civilization (classical European civilization) was formed by Greek civilization, Christianity, and the invasion of Germanic tribes, and its characteristics are that it was created in a form different from despotism. First of all, it was not that individuals were free, but that society was free and separate, which was its characteristic. In this separation, the spiritual kingdom of Catholicism grew to the size of a national organization, and the importance of the spiritual was raised above other civilizations. The Renaissance was a reaction to this, but the Protestant Reformation was a religious aspect in which the importance of the spiritual in the individual shifted from the religious (divine) to the human, and this period overlapped with the infancy of the sovereign state. The idea of freedom emerged in this overlap (spiritual, social), reaching the natural rights of the individual, and the turning point for this was the various revolutions in England, but it was the American War of Independence that reached this point as an institution, not as an individual. It was liberation from Europe, and the reaction that influenced Europe was the French Revolution.

And after 1848, democracy and nationalism began to spread slowly throughout the world.

 

I mentioned "freedom" earlier as a characteristic of European civilization, and I think that the basis of this was "freedom of religion." This then became "freedom of worldview," and social issues arose as to how much of this could be guaranteed in communal living with others, but if we could not survive in the first place, we could not afford to talk about "freedom of worldview," so I think that social issues shifted their weight to this issue.

 

When we think about it in this way, we realize that the idea of "freedom" is a historical product of European civilization. What was originally freedom in the political sense evolved into freedom in the socio-economic sense during the transition from feudal society to capitalist society. This occurred at the same time as the establishment of sovereign states and the colonial rule of other regions by the central nations of European civilization.

 

In feudal society, there was relatively little idea of equality, but as the bourgeoisie took the lead and went through the civil revolution and the industrial revolution, the idea of equality in a social sense grew, which gave rise to socialism.This increase in equality was achieved through the masses' participation in the economy and war.

 

What kind of impact will these characteristics of European civilization have on world civilization? The core values of world civilization are already European, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has become clear that the idea of "freedom" is a more fundamental "value." On the other hand, the value of "equality" remains in the form of Chinese civilization and in European social democracy, but China's current situation cannot necessarily be called socialist, and the EU's situation also seems to be a reaction to liberalism and globalization of the economy.

 

The values that originated in European civilization - "liberty" and "social equality" - are likely to be influenced by the reactions of Islamic, Indian, and Chinese civilizations. However, it seems that we are entering a period in which the assumptions upon which the concepts of "liberty" and "social equality" have been established in European countries will be reexamined, and questions will be asked as to how they can be established in the context of a global civilization .

 

All rights reserved to M Ariake

European Civilization 15 ( Representative issues in European civilization: Freedom and society1 )

5. Representative issues in European civilization: Freedom and society

 

It may be said that there are four types of European civilization. One is the EU countries,This is the origin. America, Britain, Oceania, Russia, South America. Until recently, the European civilization was extremely powerful, and its influence extended to other civilizations. There are seven characteristics of European civilization: 1. Freedom, democracy, aristocracy, 2. Spirituality and secularity (dualism), 3. Cosmopolitanism and knowledge, 4. Cosmopolitanism and industrialism, 5. Military, 6. Duality and separation, 7. Women's power. How should Japan deal with this European civilization? Also, what are the problems facing modern European civilization, and what contributions can it make to world civilization in the future?

 

However, European civilization is still powerful, and there are various elements, and there are internal conflicts, but in the long term, if the Chinese and Indian civilizations become relatively powerful, the tendency to become one will increase. Conversely, North and South America may gradually lose the elements of European civilization. There is a possibility that they will follow the same process as the Seleucid Empire, a Greek state. In the case of North America, it will first become South Americanized (there may be an aspect of North America returning to its origins as a reaction to this - perhaps the Trump administration), but it will not leave the framework of the Christian civilization. However, America has a different environment from Europe, so it will be influenced by it. As a new continent, I think Oceania also has such an aspect.

 

Russia, on the other hand, will also be influenced by Central Asia and China. In this case, it will also be removed from the framework of the Christian civilization. As long as China aims to be a maritime nation, Russia, Central Asia and China can cooperate, but in the meantime, mutual dependence will increase, and Russia will become more dependent on China, which will remove it from the Christian civilization and eventually be psychologically eroded (which will be the beginning of China's influence expansion). China's strategy to the south seems to have meaning in the north as well. However, in response to such movements, Russia will pursue the framework of the former Soviet Union (Eurasia Concept) so as not to be eroded by Chinese civilization, but it is likely that it will eventually realize that its honeymoon with China is only buying time, and will steer toward the EU (and Indian civilization).

 

It depends on how the Ukraine issue and the Xinjiang issue are resolved, but the big flow is what the residents there want. Ukraine faces the EU (European civilization), and Xinjiang faces Islamic civilization, so if they can no longer be suppressed by force, they will have no choice but to follow the natural flow through conditioning. That way, Russia can protect its territory and culture, and it would be more beneficial for China to peacefully hand over Xinjiang to Islamic civilization. This is because, as we discussed in the section on Islamic civilization, Islamic civilization is likely to be linked to Chinese civilization. That is, unless European civilization and Islamic civilization are connected behind the scenes.

 

Over-expanded nations (America, Russia, China) may be eroded by the force of the fourth principle (reaction), as was the case with Britain after the war, and eventually their centripetal force may gather around the EU, the center of European civilization that was the mother of these nations. It seems that the groundwork for this is now being laid in Europe.

 

Now, are the elements that made Europe the mother of civilization (the mother of North and South America, Oceania, and Russia) still present in the present day?

 

1) Freedom, democracy, and aristocracy - these are the original values and are thought to remain to this day. It is a civilization that continues to have these cultures in a mature form.

 

2. Spirituality and secularity (dualism) - this unfortunately seems to have weakened. The sense of adventure in the intellectual world has also decreased (decline of spirituality). Because of the long period of material abundance, the energy for pursuit of it may not be as strong as in Asia (decline of secularity). Therefore, the driving force for the development of this civilization is inevitably weaker than that of China and India.

 

3. Cosmopolitanism and knowledge: Today's Europe is moving from cosmopolitanism to integration. Loose cosmopolitanism and division have given birth to competition and evolution, but modern European civilization seems to be moving from looseness to strong unity. This comes from the lessons learned from the loss of so much in the world war, but this may not be the image of the former European civilization that always gave birth to innovation. It may also be said that a situation without division is less beneficial for cosmopolitan merchants and capital who profit from differences.

 

4. Regarding being cosmopolitan and industrialist, European civilization is no longer the only capitalist civilization based on industrialism.

 

5. Regarding being militaristic, it seems that the values of European civilization have not changed much even after the end of the world wars.

 

6. Regarding dualism and separation, the competition of values that was the driving force of evolution, arising from the conflict between spirituality and secularity, seems to have become a stable competition based on "unity (monism) and separation" at present. This may be a competition of values with historical significance, just as sovereign states gradually emerged from alliances of feudal lords. Separability also seems to be inclined to be rejected due to the lessons of the world wars. At the same time, we are entering an era in which the uniqueness of various regions is emphasized rather than that of countries, but a certain degree of universality is also required, so the theme of unity and separation may be said to be more of an institutional rather than a value-based theme compared to the themes of Protestantism and Catholicism, absolute monarchy and civil revolution, and capitalism and socialism. In fact, the path from Protestantism to Catholicism, or from absolute monarchy to the civil revolution, was also the path from feudal territorial rule to sovereign states, and values and institutional theory were inseparably linked, but in the current situation where no new value theories have emerged regarding the EU, it may be thought that the EU is like France or Britain at a time of transition (transition to sovereign states), but the time has passed when the EU's value opponents were America or Russia, and they are now other civilizations. There may also be a view that one should try to forge one's own civilization through tension with other civilizations.

 

7. The power of women may also be a new power that has emerged in the human rights ideas of European civilization. There may be good and bad things about women, but it seems that there are many women who have made great achievements in European civilization.

 

All rights reserved to M Ariake

European Civilization 1４ ( Characteristics of Modern European Civilization ３ )

6. Duality (spiritual and secular), center and division

Dualism (spirituality and secularity) was a characteristic of European civilization. This phenomenon can be seen in other civilizations as well. In Islamic civilization, caliphs and sultans existed side by side, and in Japan, In the past, the emperor and the shogun stood side by side. They represented spirituality and secularity, respectively, but in European civilization, the Pope had physical power backed by monasteries. Yes, there were. In the Middle Ages, various religious orders of knights appeared and even exercised military power.

 

Of course, the background to this was the decentralized medieval society, and the Pope, a spiritual authority, reigned over it, but this phenomenon (a religious organization at the top of power) did not occur in religious Indian civilization, and the situation did not reach this level in Islamic civilization. The caliphs were protected by the sultans. European civilization was given its worldview by the church organization that controlled the secular world, and it can be said that it was a civilization that opened up a new era by breaking through this. This took the form of various worldviews (from humanism to religious views) proposed by individuals, and scientific thought was one of them. Rational judgments by individuals also appeared in religion, and there were constant conflicts against irrational societies such as Catholicism and Protestantism, feudalism and absolutism, absolutism and democracy, capitalism and socialism, and in times of peace there were competitions and frequent wars. These things were first discussed in the spiritual world of thought, which was adopted and developed, but it can be said that in European civilization, in addition to the expansion of the geographical world, the expansion of the intellectual world was a major characteristic.

 

I think that the problem of center and separation is also behind this phenomenon. As was the case in Islamic civilization, if the spiritual or secular authority of the center is too strong, the economy and culture will be blocked, whereas European civilization was somewhat pluralistic, with Britain, France, Germany, Austria, and Russia. The aforementioned constant dualistic conflict unfolded within such a pluralistic culture, and the diversity of its products was remarkable. The weak center (perhaps it was Britain, which tried to be a balancer) developed networks, and in terms of capital, the cosmopolitan world was beginning to emerge. After the complete shift of hegemony to America after World War II, colonialism, which was a cultural element of Europe, came to an end, and the center shifted to America and the Soviet Union. However, unlike the first half of European civilization (the period when European countries were at the center, which was like Greek civilization), this period seems to have been extremely strong in the power of the center and weak in the element of separation. Also, since the axis of conflict was simple in the second half of European civilization (the era of America and Russia), it seems that we did not see a diverse development unlike the first half of European civilization. (It may be said to be Roman civilization.)

 

7. The Power of Women

It may be said that the influence of women's power as a driving force in history is an unknown problem. There are regional differences in European civilization. However, one thing that is relatively common is that many women have appeared in European civilization throughout history. I think that Christianity has an influence, but the development of human rights ideas is also thought to be behind it. Europe has already had female prime ministers, and British Prime Minister Thatcher has become a great prime minister, and German Chancellor Merkel may also go down in history as the prime minister who wiped out Hitler's bad image and made Germany the most important country in Europe. Perhaps in the near future, the time will come when a woman will become president in the United States and Russia, and if that happens in Russia, something amazing may happen (like Catherine the Great, who confirmed Russia's westernization course, just like Peter the Great).

 

All rights reserved to M Ariake

European Civilization 13 ( Characteristics of Modern European Civilization 2 )

4. Industrialism and Cosmopolitanism

 

It is said that the breakthrough of European civilization was due to the Industrial Revolution and the invention of democracy. The Industrial Revolution enhanced the power of efficiency: the second principle (the principle of improving living standards), which changed the concept of military power up to that point. This military power eventually gave birth to nuclear weapons, which made destructive all-out wars ineffective. In the context of Western civilization, it could be said that the emergence of these weapons negated the utility of war. (Other civilizations, operating with very different motives, may have taken different approaches to nuclear weapons.) This is because weapons are also an extension of politics. For this reason, economy emerged as the main element of efficiency. However, being economic is not the only overall power of a civilization, as can be seen from the tenacity of Britain. Perhaps America will not lose its hegemony so easily, and will continue to survive tenaciously. This is because America knows that after the war, Britain had a great influence on the American media and political world and survived. America may recover, but it is likely to decline relatively. Civilization is basically formed by human values and spiritual and material vitality. However, America is a country that has absorbed people from various parts of the world, so the conditions may be different. In any case, if America were to decline, it would be likely that America would hang on to the next hegemonic country, which would be China or India. And considering its ties with Britain, the fact that it can speak English, and its geographical location, India is a very likely candidate. Behind China's flashy performance, America has been quietly and submissively playing second fiddle to Germany, and the two countries are in a similar position. India is also a country that can have universal ideals like America (see Indian Civilization in the second exhibition room). Perhaps India may be already playing the same role in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as Japan did in the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

 

I've digressed a little, but another factor that led to the rapid development of European civilization was democracy, but why was it such a rapid development? Freedom exists only with individualism and human rights, and democracy was established as a system to guarantee this. It encouraged people to voluntarily participate in politics, and became an active form of politics that sought to realize the free will of each citizen. It was completely different from the social structures that had been forced into existence by rulers throughout history, and this dramatically increased the power of the social structural force: the third principle (the principle of community development).

 

The strengthening of efficiency through the Industrial Revolution: the power of the second principle (principle of improving living standards), and the strengthening of social structure through democracy: the power of the third principle (principle of developing communities) led to the rise of the British Empire and France. Democracy has a purifying power, so the social structure force of Britain and France also increased. So why were Britain and France overtaken by the German Empire and the United States? It is not hard to understand, as the United States is also the birthplace of democracy. But Germany was not a democratic country.

 

One of the drawbacks of democracy is that it is difficult to quickly adjust vested interests; it takes time. This is often accompanied by confusion due to information disruption and political strife, but Germany has successfully increased efficiency by focusing on bureaucracy. However, in Germany's case, even if they achieved early success, they had problems such as clinging to success stories and not being able to exert their purification power. This is a problem that is common to Japan, but it may be said that the efficiency and social structural power based on democracy as a collection of people with free ideas was not necessarily something that could be said about Germany, or Japan.

 

One of the factors that shook Europe may be the cosmopolitan capitalism that was built on industrialism. The Industrial Revolution produced new technologies and new products one after another, which created new demand and created an environment for cosmopolitans to invest and make profits. This expanded European civilization itself and led to the colonization of other civilizations, but the efficiency and social structural power within the European civilization sphere became uncontrollable. Against this backdrop, domestic circumstances in each country, class struggle and colonialism (social imperialism) in England and rigid militarism in Germany, combined to eventually lead to two world wars. There was also a problem that is relevant to the present day, in that the adjustment between the real economy and finance was not necessarily ideal.

 

5. Military

 

The reason why European civilization is so military is probably because it experienced repeated invasions by other tribes. In the past, most of the cities in European civilization were surrounded by walls, and in many cases, cities were born from these walls. Another factor was the establishment of cities due to the increase in agricultural productivity in the Middle Ages. However, it seems certain that Europe was a weak place for a long time, given the history of the movement of nomadic tribes (it was spared because it was in the far west), and European civilization was cornered by the advance of the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century (their response was to conquer the Atlantic Ocean), but the improvement of weapons and transportation capabilities (also efficiency) that came with the Industrial Revolution in England put an end to this situation. Also, in the process of getting to that point, weapons had been improved to a certain extent, which seems to have led to Russia's expansion in Eurasia.

 

European civilization also challenged the once advanced civilization, Islamic civilization. This was attributed to the invasion of the Byzantine Empire by the Seljuk Turks, but it was also due to the desire of Italian cities connected with the Pope to expand their Mediterranean trade sphere, and although it was an aggressive military action, the multiple Crusades may have been an aspect of Europe's vitality and military inclinations overlapping. For a long time, Europe had built up a military culture (aristocracy) from a defensive perspective, but when the position of the Europeans was reversed with Islamic civilization and Byzantium, they seized the opportunity to go on the offensive, which may also be considered a military aspect.

 

After the collapse of medieval society, European civilization was constantly renewing its axis of conflict, which was compounded by military elements, leading to repeated wars. This created competition within European civilization, leading to evolution in all fields from the 17th to the 20th centuries, but ultimately this military worldview led to the bankruptcy of European civilization itself. However, this was not the end of the military worldview, which continued even after World War II in the form of the Cold War, but perhaps because they had witnessed the collapse of European civilization, the United States and Russia, who were also constituents of European civilization, were able to end the Cold War by subordinated the military to politics.

 

In European civilization, great opposing axes such as Catholicism and Protestantism, absolute monarchy and the bourgeoisie, capitalism and socialism appeared as if they were evolving, and this in itself was also an evolution of civilization itself, but it may have been that military tendencies were added to this and the benefits were lost through war . Also, even if the idea of socialism was ideally the right direction, it may have been problematic in that the means to realize it had not yet been clarified or created. The fact that the Russian experiment became a model (and influenced China as well) may have seemed to suggest that socialism was disqualified at the start.

 

All rights reserved to M Ariake

 

European Civilization 12 ( Characteristics of Modern European Civilization 1 )

4. Modern European Civilization

 

It can be said that modern European civilization has overcome classical European civilization. The essence of European civilization is democratic (and, on the other hand, aristocratic) and dualistic (spirituality and secularity).

Scientific thought and sovereign nations emerged to overcome the medieval world, and with their power Protestantism rose to power, leading to a long war. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 put an end to the religious wars for the time being, and in England the prototype of the civil revolution arose (Puritan Revolution 1642, Glorious Revolution 1688), which spread to America and France as the theory of the social contract, and in England the Industrial Revolution occurred as freedom, capital and colonies (resources and markets) were combined. The class struggle that occurred here gave rise to socialism, and its extreme form, Marxism, spread to relatively backward Russia and developing countries outside Europe. Furthermore, because Europe was networked and cosmopolitan on the foundation of industrialism, the impetus for its civilization became enormous.

 

 

1. What will happen to freedom, democracy, and aristocracy? In Europe, freedom will increase within the EU. The movement of capital, people, and information will increase, and Europe may become like America, with each country becoming more like a state, but since Europe has a much higher level of localism than America, the tendency toward regionalism will also strengthen at the same time. Democracy develops closely with regionalism, and such regionalism and democracy may appear in North America and Russia, although to different degrees. Freedom, democracy, and aristocracy are rooted in Germanic temperament, so they may be slightly different in Latin and Slavic countries. Also, in America and Russia, there are fewer aristocratic elements and they may feel more populist, but the way they are manipulated may tend to be through money or force. I think freedom, democracy, and aristocracy will remain in a balanced form in the center of Europe, but on the right wing will be the North American region, which advocates freedom, and on the left wing will be the Russian region, which advocates equality. It seems likely that Europe, North America and Russia will see the power of social structure - the third principle (principle of community development) - come into play with federations and regionalism.

 

 

2 Duality, spiritual and secular, was a prominent feature of European civilization. European civilization was once influenced by the social structural forces of the Middle Ages (feudalism), but spirituality ruled over the secular world. Therefore, to break the medieval worldview, it was necessary to break Islamic civilization, that is, to conquer not only geographically but also intellectually. European civilization created various worldviews and academic fields, but in modern times, there is no longer any rebellion against spirituality, and its creativity has declined from historical fulfillment, and as a result of repeated wars, it has lost many excellent human resources, and the aspect that had strengthened and grown due to historical conflicts has been lost, and it is moving toward integration. In this respect, it seems that modern European civilization cannot expect to make the same leap as the European civilization of the past, but for that reason it will strengthen its vigilance against other civilizations and move in the direction of protecting the foundations of Western civilization by cooperating with North America and Russia.

 

3. Cosmopolitans and Information

European civilization is the place that gave birth to the concept of the nation-state, but it has also become the place that has tried to give birth to concepts that transcend it. In other words, the EU is an attempt to unite different ethnic groups , but I am not sure whether what is trying to achieve this is cosmopolitan. The EU is, in a sense, a barrier against other civilizations, and also provides European industries with the movement of capital and labor and a large market.

 

As I also considered in the section on Islamic civilization, international merchants do not want huge power in the center, but rather make profits by exploiting the differences between separate nations. I think that the period when European civilization was at its strongest was when Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States were all growing. European civilization collapsed due to internal conflicts because the competition caused by the division reached a saturation point, and Britain and Germany were unable to adjust their interests as Britain and France had done, leading to two world wars, with the United States and Russia (especially the United States) reaping the benefits. However, in the course of events that led to this, could the cosmopolitan society, which was based on the industrial society that made Europe the strongest, and which was connected by capital and information, have prevented this? I think the problem with European civilization was that it had reached a point where the status quo of the British Empire could no longer be accepted. The great European powers had become powerful during Pax Britannica, but they were trying to break through that framework. Cosmopolitans had no choice but to ride this wave. Capital and human resources moved to America, and America liberated the European colonies in Asia and Africa. And the great power of Europe was rejected. Domesticism in America (Monroe Doctrine) was also rejected. Domesticism in Russia was partially rejected with the establishment of the Soviet Union (recently, Russia seems to be trying to return to domesticism, but this may be the other side of weakening). In this situation, Europe, centered on Germany and France, which were enemies, advocated the revival of European civilization with the EC and EU, but the hegemony of the British Empire continued to some extent under the umbrella of America, and although it has weakened recently, it is finally now that it seems that a true Europe is about to be established (although the situation has changed a little with the UK's withdrawal from the EU), but the dynamism of European civilization in the past was achieved through separation and competition, and it is questionable whether such a thing exists in modern European civilization.

 

All rights reserved to M Ariak

European Civilization 11 ( Characteristics of European Civilization 2 )

4. The reason why European civilization became the most powerful civilization was due to the combined forces of the accumulation of scientific knowledge in many fields, its industrialization, and the formation of markets (exports). On top of this industrial capital, there was a cosmopolitan, networked world of capital.

 

5. Excessively militaristic. Having experienced repeated invasions by foreign tribes, they are sensitive about security. This has been the situation since they were a small community, but on the other hand, they have also developed the idea of arbitration and trials rather than military. The formation of modern nation states is a result of this (for example, the development of the Bourbon dynasty increased its power as an arbitrator), but it seems that the idea of balance of power also had this aspect.

 

 

6. The secular world was separated and the central universality was gradual, but in the case of European civilization, the duality of the spiritual and the secular has led to complex historical phenomena. After the end of the Middle Ages, Catholicism and Protestantism fought, which was accompanied by wars and diplomacy for the balance of power in the secular world, resulting in long-term religious wars and turmoil. Religion (the Puritan Revolution) gave rise to democracy and nationalism, and the old powers (the nobility and clergy) fought against the bourgeoisie and bourgeois classes, which was also accompanied by competition for the balance of power in the secular world, resulting in long-term conflicts and wars related to the civil revolution. The Industrial Revolution, which was born from the freedom created by the civil revolution, gave rise to the bourgeoisie and working class, which gave rise to class struggle, and the power of efficiency: the second principle (the principle of improving living standards) gave rise to imperialism (capital accumulation, military, and the development of transportation and communication technology), thus creating the continuous evolution of European civilization.

 

 

Islamic civilization has a similar structure to European civilization, with the separation of the secular, a loose center, and Sunni and Shiite sects*. Also, European and Islamic civilizations have similar appearances in the sense of being cosmopolitan and networked societies, but the speed of subsequent development was faster in European civilization. Why is this? It may have been a difference in degree, although they are similar. There was a period in the Middle Ages when spiritual power dominated over secular power in European civilization. This power also contributed to the expansion of agricultural productivity. It was characterized by being both secular and spiritual power, and therefore the worldview it created was wide-reaching and robust, but the reaction to it was also wide-reaching and powerful. The chain reaction between the old and new powers, which often changed their meaning, was also powerful. Other elements of European civilization were drawn into this conflict. For example, Germanic democracy, aristocracy, and freedom. This civilization's peasant elements, military elements, sense of balance of power, cosmopolitan elements, and the external forces of Islamic civilization were all combined in various ways to drive a variety of phenomena.

 

7. The status of women was remarkably high compared to other civilizations. This phenomenon was probably linked to the emergence of the idea of human rights. Although there were regional differences, it was a notable feature compared to other civilizations, including the fact that empresses appeared quite frequently and that there were quite a few female historical figures.

 

All rights reserved to M Ariake

 

European Civilization 10 ( Characteristics of European Civilization 1 )

3. Characteristics of European Civilization

 

European civilization seems to be more similar to Islamic civilization than Chinese or Indian civilization. It is cosmopolitan and networked. The original form of European civilization was created in the 9th century during the time of Charlemagne, when the currents originating from Greece and Rome, the currents originating from Eastern Christianity, and the currents originating from Germanic culture merged. After that, it formed a military culture and a hierarchical culture (similar to India in this respect) while being attacked by foreign tribes many times, and while being subjected to external forces from Islam, it absorbed the seeds of science and a cosmopolitan and networked culture from Islam, and eventually overtook Islamic civilization. At the end of the line, there was a scientific and commercial nation, and it reached the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was an opportunity to give the power of efficiency: the second principle (principle of improving living standards) more power than the power of social structure: the third principle (principle of community development).

 

To name a few features:

 

1. Germanic elements (assembly and aristocracy) were thought to be strong. Compared to Islamic and other civilizations, Europe had less of a monarchical and autocratic element. Although bilateralism also had elements of Roman law, compared to the later development of Byzantium, the European civilization created a social structure that was the premise of the agricultural revolution (for example, three-field agriculture: a structure in which each member of a village had a role), and repeated invasions by foreign tribes created contracts for feudal lords to obtain security. In addition, although democracy and aristocracy later became a conflict, the aspect of personal rule by the aristocracy remained strong , so it cannot be said to be simply contractual. The way village members were organized is similar to the Indian caste system in some ways, but while Indian civilization ranked people by purity, Europe does not seem to have ranked members of the same class. This kind of ranking can be seen in Japan, although on a smaller scale, with the four classes of samurai, farmers, artisans, and merchants. This is thought to be for the purpose of dividing and governing, but in medieval Europe, people were divided into those who fought, those who prayed, and those who cultivated. The detailed hierarchy of those who fought and those who prayed was complicated (aristocratic elements), but no detailed hierarchy was created for those who cultivated. This made it easy for society to become fluid, and as agricultural productivity improved, markets (the birth of merchants) were established, trade arose, cities were established, and freedom rights in cities were asserted. The loose hierarchy and democratic nature of the peasant class led to the establishment of markets and cities , but one of the characteristics of European civilization may be that freedom was asserted through groups and networks. Islamic civilization is also powerful in terms of less hierarchy and equality, but Islamic civilization started from commerce rather than agriculture, and its approach to freedom may have been different from that of Europe. The important concept for European civilization is freedom, and this eventually led those who cultivated through productivity over those who fought and prayed  .

 

2. The dualism of spirituality and secularity is related to the Christian aspect. Although Christian civilization came to be through Greek and Roman civilization, the original flow of Christian orthodoxy seems to have been in the Eastern Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. Christianity first gained its foundation in Greece, spread to the Roman Empire, and became the state religion, and Constantinople can be said to have been its center. However, Christianity gained great authority as an independent spiritual force when Rome, which had become a frontier in the 4th century, began to assert its authority in a place other than secular power. The Church remained a force because it had administrative power over the people's lives against the Germanic invasion, and the Germanic people used the Church. Monasteries were also the main driving force for land reclamation, and the monastic movement defeated secular power in the investiture movement, and an era came when the Pope was above secular power (although there were times when it was a decentralized era), but the major characteristic of European civilization was that spirituality came to the top, and this constituted the world view. You might think that these characteristics are similar to the phenomenon that gave rise to the Brahmins in the Gupta Dynasty in India and the Sufis in the Abbasid Dynasty in Islamic civilization*, but in European civilization, this phenomenon led to the Enlightenment through the Renaissance and Protestant Reformation, and led not only to the exploration of the spatial world but also to the exploration of various spiritual intellectual worlds. It was this scientific intellect that became the driving force behind the rapid advancement of European civilization.

 

* Perhaps behind these phenomena lies a desire for freedom from rigid systems.

 

3. Cosmopolitan and networked. These aspects were probably learned from Islamic civilization (Mamluks, Umayyads)*, and there were forces that expanded commerce by taking advantage of the situation of weakened religious authority and separated secular power. At first, agricultural production expanded and cities emerged in medieval Europe, constrained by the external force of Islamic civilization: the fifth principle (environmental principle and external principle), but gradually a cosmopolitan and networked society was established in medieval Europe on top of these. These cosmopolitan forces formed hegemonic structures (Fugger, Medec, Rothschild) in each era in Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and England.

 

*When talking about what was transferred from Islamic civilization to European civilization, academic knowledge is often mentioned, but how was trade know-how transferred? It was probably accumulated through Venice and other places during the course of several Crusades (including Byzantium).

 

all rights reserved to M Ariake

European Civilization 9 ( recall the five principles )

Let us now recall the five principles.

(1) First Principle (Principle of Value): Value is a function of time, (2) Second Principle (Principle of Improving Living Standards): Efficiency is a function of value, (3) Third Principle (Principle of Community) (4) Fourth Principle (Principle of Reaction and Internal Principle): Reaction forces are a function of values; (5) Fifth Principle (Principle of Environment and External Principle): Principle: The first four forces are influenced by the environment or external forces.

 

What made European civilization different from other civilizations? I think it can be said that Europe was unique from other civilizations in that the spiritual and the secular were dualized, that is, in terms of values. Medieval European civilization is similar to Indian civilization in that the clergy influenced administration. It is also similar in that ancient cultures were restored in new forms. Although they are different eras, it could be said that the reason the two developed differently was because of different religious values. European civilization attacked Islamic civilization, and Islamic civilization attacked Indian civilization. What made European civilization aggressive was the growth of cities, commerce, and trade, and this secular way of looking at things is probably closely related to the birth of scientific thought in the form of skepticism of the authority of spirituality. After the Renaissance, European values went through Da Vinci and Galileo to Newton, and they were not limited to conquering the geographical world, but also conquered various genres of the intellectual world. They did so with the methodology of the scientific spirit. One part of that intellectual world is various technologies, and it can be said that it is the power of efficiency: the second principle (the principle of improving life). Another intellectual world is the political world, where democracy can be described as a form of social structural power: the power of the third principle (the principle of community development).

In other words, the value of European civilization was something that was opposed to historical religion and the conquest of the entire intellectual world (not just spatial) through the methodology of the scientific spirit.

 

And so the idea of reaction force: the fourth principle (principle of reaction and internal principle) emerges. Why did European civilization, which could be said to be the epitome of the scientific spirit, collapse in an irrational way? The reaction force is the idea that when a force is applied, a force that tries to return to the original state also occurs, but where did European civilization try to return to? This can be seen from what the British Empire lost. Religion and aristocracy, which had long been the mainstay of European civilization's values, had finished their roles, and it is thought that some kind of force was at work to return to those positions. The colonies held by imperialist nations, mainly Britain, were a burden to the industrial world, but they were meaningful as investment destinations and in providing social status, and the vanguard that went into the colonies were often missionaries and children of clergy. The background to this was the "ethical conviction" mentioned earlier.

 

America rejected colonies and restructured the world in a way that favored the industrial sector. The Soviet Union was the same in this respect, but the Soviet Union had already rejected the nobility and religion after the Russian Revolution. America did not originally have an aristocracy (although there was racism), and religion was relatively free. World War I and World War II were wars between the rising military state of Germany (whose officers were also aristocrats: Junkers) and the declining British vested interest class (also aristocrats: gentlemen), and it could be said that both Britain and Germany lost and America (the financial class, not the aristocracy) won. Up until this point, it does not seem that any decisive external forces had been exerted on European civilization . European civilization (Europe, America, Russia) of this era had overwhelming power. And it was maintained during the Cold War, but in the process of diversification, European civilization shrank relatively. The collapse of the Soviet Union could also be said to be one of the shrinking of European civilization. The phenomenon of American unipolar dominance is also in a difficult situation after the Lehman Shock.

 

all rights reserved to M Ariake

European Civilization 8 ( Technology came to define politics and society )

The Industrial Revolution was started by people (human capital) who had low social status but were carriers of a new religion (or a scientific spirit) and found themselves in a state of freedom, so to speak, when their path to promotion was blocked within the existing social structure.* This was established by the systematic accumulation of success stories that happened to occur. There are many meanings to "chance," and it probably occurred in 18th century England because of improved agricultural productivity, things people wanted to make, resources, markets, and cheap capital.

 

*The Industrial Revolution occurred in 18th century Britain, where people were free to do their activities in areas other than those of vested interests. The entry of many people with new religions and new values into this world, and the many problems that needed to be solved at that time, are thought to have been the causes of the British Industrial Revolution. However, it may be important to note that many of the people who achieved this were Scottish. The trigger was neither London nor Oxford Bridge* (Industrial Revolution: Ashton).

 

 

And when cosmopolitan elements (financial elements) were added to the rooftop of this industrial capital, European civilization was born, a civilization that became more universal and more influential than Islamic civilization.

 

The Industrial Revolution ended the era in which history was driven by innovation, the "power of social structure: the power of the third principle (the principle of community development)," and placed the "power of efficiency: the power of the second principle (the principle of improving living standards)" at the forefront of historical change. This is best illustrated by the fact that the destructive power of nuclear weapons, a symbol of power, almost ended world wars, and that information technology and transportation technology have powerfully deepened global interdependence, turning the world into one playhouse (the Globe Theatre*).

*The Globe Theatre: The name of the theatre in London where Shakespeare presided.

 

3. Simple sketch based on 5 principles

 Before the Industrial Revolution, the main force that triggered historical change was the force of social structure: the third principle (principle of community development). Therefore, military and politics drove history. The reason why Islamic civilization and the Mongol Empire grew so rapidly was probably because of their fighting capabilities and excellent governing organizations. However, the Industrial Revolution drastically changed that. Of course, the expansion of agricultural productivity and the progress of urbanization in medieval Europe also had some influence on efficiency (the 12th century Renaissance in Europe). In addition, in the case of European civilization (11th to 12th centuries), the cultivation of monasteries expanded farmland, and the monastic movement and the investiture movement increased the authority of the Pope, leading to a coexistence of the spiritual and the secular in a form in which the spiritual was prominent, or rather, in which the spiritual was dominant (also in the 11th to 12th centuries). However, the Crusades did not overwhelm Islamic civilization, and even the discovery of new sea routes by Spain and Portugal did not immediately overwhelm Islamic civilization. During the time of Charles V (16th century), the Ottoman Turks besieged Vienna (1529), and at that time Islamic civilization was at its peak with the Ottoman Turks, the Safavid Dynasty, and the Mughal Empire. After that, the Netherlands and England advanced into the world, but they cleverly used local power, and this was the result of organizations such as the East India Company, and the power of social structure: the third principle (principle of community development).

 

This completely changed with the mechanization of weapons and transportation and the formation of an industrial society capable of mass-producing them, the final symbolic result of which was the emergence of nuclear weapons. Technology came to define politics and society. However, this technology was also surpassed by other technologies, and in the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, both countries fell into a tailspin due to their reliance on nuclear weapons. The United States regained technological superiority by utilizing the information industry that had grown during military development. The technology created by the economy and industry is the most important thing, and the power of efficiency: the second principle (the principle of improving living standards) remains the most important power, but the ability to quickly and appropriately discover and disseminate technology that is appropriate for the times has become desirable for civilizations and nations.

 

All rights reserved to M Ariake