What is 'The West'

We hear about “Western Involvement”, “Western Values”, and “Western Interests” in the media. People say that the West is the best, or that the West is in decline. Some country is either Westernising or hates the West's way of life.

The West is the countries with democracies and free markets right? Or countries that are part of Western Civilisation? Then what about Latin America, are they Western? What does “The West” even mean and what exactly is Western Civilisation. Let’s find out

CHECK OUT GRANT HURST'S VIDEO ON HOW DID THE WEST CONQUER THE WORLD

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[bradchambers]

"No one in the West is sacrificing goats to the gods . . ."

Speak for yourself, city boy.

[hiphipjorge]

Talk to the middle class of Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, São Paulo, Santiago, etc. You’ll quickly realize that they’re not wildly different from the middle class of Madrid, Lisbon or Rome.

[nouvilas]

Why is Australia upside down at 4:08? o_O

[presidenttogekiss]

I mean, I'm Brazilian, and I feel Western. My whole family is catholic. We speak a romance language. We celebrate christmas, we have elections, we are free and all those things. (and just in case someone asks, we're also white. Mother's blonde and blue eyes in fact).

[christianweibrecht]

i believe most people use the term "western" as a synonym for "white" and usually christian

[Slashplite]

It makes me so confused when Americans and Brits call Poland, Czechia or Hungary "the East" "Eastern Europe". 50 years under Soviet occupation doesnt make them "eastern cultures".

[leongremista]

It really pisses me off when americans speak of "Western civilization" and "Latin American Civilization" as two things apart, as two completely different things
I mean, latin american civilization? Really?

[iammrbeat]

I love how you snuck "Friends" and "Grown Ups" in there :)

[chevalierduchrist]

I'm Brazilian and I don't just "consider myself", I'm western. I live in a country located in the Americas, in the western hemisphere, I speak a Latin language, I am Catholic, the institutions of my country are western, we have a western way of life, we are heirs of Greco-Roman thought and 95% of my country has at least 1 European ancestor. Anyone who says I'm not western is either ignorant or prejudiced.

[iammrbeat]

Every Western Civ class should begin with this video.

[ppaaccoojrf]

Great video. This would go great with a follow up video on the evolution of the term "East", and the various ways it was called (i.e., How "Asia" used to mean Anatolia, but nowadays people initially associate with China).

[KSC]

I've always wandered why some countries of Latin America is not considered part of the Western Civilization, even though here in Brazil we do consider Brazil as a western country. We understand that we are not developed and white, but we see the west more like a culture thing, not a race or economical thing.

[fablereader]

4:01 What happened to Australia?? And no-one can hate Liechtenstein.

[lilahdog]

"Murder is bad, mkay?" - Marcus Aurelius, meditations

[TomKellyXY]

The West means different things to different people. In China, Korea, and Japan it has a very different meaning to in Western countries themselves.

[cesardarmas]

I was just reading "Occidentalism: The West in the eyes of its enemies" by Ian Buruma and Avishai Margalit (quite an interesting read, btw) and this video was very convenient to understanding the notion of what the "west" is (or is not). Thanks for exploring that topic.

[LunarEchoes]

I’m Croat, and I feel Western. All of my family is Catholic. We use latinic alphabet. We only learn languages that are refered as western. We have a lot of western countries that we are allies with.

[brendanfletcher]

A fair-minded and cogent articulation of the 'West'-- wonderful stuff. I think you missed an opportunity for further clarification though when you used the term 'first-world' which is itself an equally problematic term. It originates, as you may well know, from the interaction of the cold war to differentiate capitalist allied (first world), communist aligned (second world), and neutral third-parties (third-world). It only took on connotations of economic development in very much the same stream as the 'Eastern Other'; propaganda buried in the connotations of our language to remind ourselves that we are distinct and superior. You alluded to this dynamic with the solidification of 'Western values' as being liberal free-market but I thought this comment might add a bit of nuance.

Either way, it's an excellent video and I'm fast becoming a fan of your channel.

[JackRackam]

@ 3:43 Wait a minute... I see what you did there...

[TheQuipore]

Miss Usage of "First World" as it is a Cold War term meaning "The United States, Europe and their Allies." as opposed to "Second World" being "The Soviet Union, China and their Allies" and "Third World" being the states aligned with neither. It is a political label, not an economic.