The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

Modern Western Civilization

Modern Western Civilization had its origins in the Judeo-Christian values of the Dark and Middle Ages and began to flourish into a distinct Western culture starting in Italy during the Renaissance, moved to France, then Holland, and finally to Great Britain, where it migrated to the United States, and spread out to the rest of the world on this axis. It was during this Western cultural development that the Scientific Revolution and Age of Enlightenment occurred in Europe and America. On the website Modern Gentleman Life, they have posted an article, “A Beginner's Guide to Western Culture: What You Need to Know” by Dingo Lin Chan, that opens with:

“Western culture is the umbrella term for the cultural norms, traditions, values, and practices that have emerged in Western Europe and North America. Art, literature, music, philosophy, science, and politics are just a few of the many disciplines it includes. In the modern era, Western culture has had a significant influence on the rest of the world. The advancement of democracy, human rights, capitalism, and contemporary science are just a few of the things it has helped with. It is crucial for anyone, especially the modern gentleman, who wants to navigate and participate in today's globalized society, to understand and interact with Western culture. It is a vital part of one's general education to have knowledge about the cultural norms, traditions, values, and practices.”

No culture in the history of humankind has been more responsible for the advancement of humankind than Western culture. These Western cultural advancements far exceed that of any other culture, and they have brought Liberties and Freedoms, along with health and prosperity, to all of humanity. Yet Western culture has been in decline for several decades, and it is important to examine the reasons for this decline. If we wish to properly address why Western culture has been declining, we should look back in history to determine why Western culture moved from one country to another. The answer to this question contains the seed of the answer to why Western culture is currently in decline.

The movement of Western culture occurred when the countries that I have mentioned started to suppress free speech and, with it, free thought. When this occurred, the intelligentsia in the country where this suppression occurred moved to a neighboring country that fostered free speech, and eventually, free speech settled in America.

In the last several decades in America, we have seen a decline in free speech with the rise of Progressive "Activists and Activism", "Adjective Justice", "Cancel Culture", "Critical Race Theory (CRT)", "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)", "Doxing", "Environmental, Social, and corporate Governance (ESG)", "Equity and Equality", "Identity Politics", "Intersectionality", "Modern Feminism", "Virtue Signaling", "Wokeness", and the suppression of supposed disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. Much of this free speech suppression has been written about in the book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage”, by Professor Jonathan Turley. We have also seen a totalitarian impulse of European governments to control free speech in Europe under the umbrella of "Hate Speech" and the suppression of supposed disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation.

All of these free speech suppressions have greatly contributed to the decline of Western cultural values. But all hope is not lost. With the recent election of President Trump, these free speech shackles have been greatly reduced, and the American people feel more freedom to speak their minds and are less fearful of retaliation for speaking their minds. We are also seeing a rise in Europe of dissident political movements that are speaking out against their government's suppressions and policies that shackle their opponent's free speech. Both Americans and Europeans should remember the words of wisdom of one of the great 20th-century dissenters of Communist tyranny:

 “The strength or weakness of a society depends more on the level of its spiritual life than on its level of industrialization. Neither a market economy nor even general abundance constitutes the crowning achievement of human life. If a nation's spiritual energies have been exhausted, it will not be saved from collapse by the most perfect government structure or by any industrial development. A tree with a rotten core cannot stand.”
 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

In America and Europe, the spirit that Solzhenitsyn spoke of is the spirit of Western culture. It is time for us to reeducate and rekindle ourselves in the spirit of Western culture. If we do not do so, then Western cultural values will be extinguished, and humanity will slide into another Dark Age in which the rule of humankind will be of despotism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism.

Four foreign thinkers, Douglas Murray, Jordan Peterson, Kemi Badenoch, and Konstantin Kisin, reflect on this decline of Western culture in their speeches at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship 2025 conference:

• Douglas Murray on A Civilization Moment: The Choices We Face
• Jordan Peterson on The Best of Our Inheritance: A Call to Remember
• Kemi Badenoch on The problem isn't liberalism, the problem is weakness
• Konstantin Kisin on The Better Story – Create Don’t Complain: Building a Better World

And finally, “JD Vance's Historic Full Speech At Munich: Slams European Leaders On Free Speech” confronts European leaders about what they stand for.

My readers would do well to watch these videos, as these speakers have much more knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom than I have to speak on this topic.