Primary Reason for West's Economic Dominance

[infinite59]

Sorry Pat Buchanon, but it's not because the Western white Christian man is superior.  Rather, it is because of Europe's expansion and exploitation into the America's.  American resourses brought back so much wealth to Europe that Europe gradually surpassed the East.  

Historian James Loewen explains this phenomenon...

Where Muslim nations had once rivaled Europe, the new wealth undermined Islamic power.  American gold and silver fueled a 400 percent inflation that eroded the ecomomics of most non-European countries and helped Europe to develop a global market system.  

Africa suffered: the  trans-Saharan trade collapsed, because the Americas supplied more gold and silver than the Gold Coast ever could.   African traders now had only one commodity that Europe wanted: slaves.

[Woodrow]

You're dead wrong. Big Surprise.

"Those who say that all cultures are equal never explain why the results of those cultures are so grossly unequal." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell

Why is it, with all the wealth from Oil in the Middle East, there is still such a great deal of poverty, ignorance, and violence? Quit blaming your problems on others, and look at the root. Religious intolerance and the lack of democratic governments are the problem, not America.

Here is another quote to destroy your ignorant and feeble minded argument:

"In terms of natural resources, Africa is the world's richest continent. It has 50 percent of the world's gold, most of the world's diamonds and chromium, 90 percent of the cobalt, 40 percent of the world's potential hydroelectric power, 65 percent of the manganese, millions of acres of untilled farmland as well as other natural resources.  Despite the natural wealth, Africa is home to the world's most impoverished and abused people. Of the 41 black African nations, only three (Senegal, Botswana and Mauritius) allow their people the right to vote and choose their own leaders. Only two (Botswana and Senegal) permit freedom of expression and criticism of government policies. In countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Sudan, Chad and others, ethnic genocide has taken the lives of untold millions of innocent victims. Slavery is still practiced in the Sudan and Mauritania." -- Dr. Walter E. Williams

[Real American]

The west became dominant because of democracy, capitalism, separation of church and state, concept of human rights, and an overall environment of freedom.

[King Tech Quadafi]

I always gave the credit to colonialism and the industrial revolution

[Z the laidback Virus]

I don't think you can 'blame' this on one fact or another,as I think the situation is much more complex. In fact, it's probably a combination of all named facts and quite probably some others. One thing might be cattle. No native African ungulate ('hoofed') species has been domesticated. There were zebras,giraffes,antilopes,gazelles,wildebeest,eland,buffalos,duikers,pigs, heck,even hippos,rhinos and elephants that could have been domesticated....but none of these were. Instead,they got cows and dromedaries...all domesticated in Eurasia and brought to Africa later. Perhaps the lack of domesticated animals until fairly recent times just ment that agriculture didn't start off in the same way as elsewhere. (in the Americas,they had Llama and Alpaca)This could have had major implications for the development.Same situation with aboriginals in Australia.

But this is of course of inferior importance compared to the effect of colonisation and slavery. Slavery meant that most of the healthy,strong population was taken away elsewhere wich meant the 'quality' of humans declined in Africa.Also,it might have inspired a mentality of not doing too much because situations were instabile and all your stronger people could be captured the next day. This undoubtedly had major implications.

[Don Rizzle]

I always gave the credit to colonialism and the industrial revolution

hit the nail on the head there, europe has had dominance over the whole world for over a thousand years its only natural that economic wealth will go hand in hand with this.

[King Tech Quadafi]

dont know about no thousand years, the Islamic empire was more powerful well into the 1400,s when colonialism started at that time, same time the Ottoman economy started to become stagnated, and the ball was rollin from there

[Loganism]

You're dead wrong. Big Surprise.

"Those who say that all cultures are equal never explain why the results of those cultures are so grossly unequal." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell

Why is it, with all the wealth from Oil in the Middle East, there is still such a great deal of poverty, ignorance, and violence? Quit blaming your problems on others, and look at the root. Religious intolerance and the lack of democratic governments are the problem, not America.

Here is another quote to destroy your ignorant and feeble minded argument:

"In terms of natural resources, Africa is the world's richest continent. It has 50 percent of the world's gold, most of the world's diamonds and chromium, 90 percent of the cobalt, 40 percent of the world's potential hydroelectric power, 65 percent of the manganese, millions of acres of untilled farmland as well as other natural resources.  Despite the natural wealth, Africa is home to the world's most impoverished and abused people. Of the 41 black African nations, only three (Senegal, Botswana and Mauritius) allow their people the right to vote and choose their own leaders. Only two (Botswana and Senegal) permit freedom of expression and criticism of government policies. In countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Sudan, Chad and others, ethnic genocide has taken the lives of untold millions of innocent victims. Slavery is still practiced in the Sudan and Mauritania." -- Dr. Walter E. Williams

"Third world countries are rich places, abundant in resources, and many of these countries have the capacity to feed their starving people, the people we always see digging through trash for food on TV and commercials. But, a government run by the rich, such as this one, and traditionally oppressive European states, force the third world into buying overpriced, unnecessary goods, while exporting huge portions of their natural resources."

Then when the countries try to do something to help themselves such as nationalize the banana fields, oil fields, etc, then we attack them and set up a puppet government that won't do such things to hinder our  grab on more money.

[infinite59]

dont know about no thousand years, the Islamic empire was more powerful well into the 1400,s when colonialism started at that time, same time the Ottoman economy started to become stagnated, and the ball was rollin from there

Exactly, and it was the gold and silver trade that got the ball rolling economically.

[infinite59]

dont know about no thousand years, the Islamic empire was more powerful well into the 1400,s when colonialism started at that time, same time the Ottoman economy started to become stagnated, and the ball was rollin from there

Exactly, and it was the gold and silver trade that got the ball rolling economically.

[GoodLuvn169]

You're dead wrong. Big Surprise.

"Those who say that all cultures are equal never explain why the results of those cultures are so grossly unequal." -- Dr. Thomas Sowell

Why is it, with all the wealth from Oil in the Middle East, there is still such a great deal of poverty, ignorance, and violence? Quit blaming your problems on others, and look at the root. Religious intolerance and the lack of democratic governments are the problem, not America.

Here is another quote to destroy your ignorant and feeble minded argument:

"In terms of natural resources, Africa is the world's richest continent. It has 50 percent of the world's gold, most of the world's diamonds and chromium, 90 percent of the cobalt, 40 percent of the world's potential hydroelectric power, 65 percent of the manganese, millions of acres of untilled farmland as well as other natural resources.  Despite the natural wealth, Africa is home to the world's most impoverished and abused people. Of the 41 black African nations, only three (Senegal, Botswana and Mauritius) allow their people the right to vote and choose their own leaders. Only two (Botswana and Senegal) permit freedom of expression and criticism of government policies. In countries like Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique, Sudan, Chad and others, ethnic genocide has taken the lives of untold millions of innocent victims. Slavery is still practiced in the Sudan and Mauritania." -- Dr. Walter E. Williams

lol you showed him.  

[GoodLuvn169]

dont know about no thousand years, the Islamic empire was more powerful well into the 1400,s when colonialism started at that time, same time the Ottoman economy started to become stagnated, and the ball was rollin from there

Thats true.  So why is everbody so pissed off at America.  Why arent we allowed to be powerful.  The Ottomans were.  Our own poeple are pissed off because we are too powerful.