From Eurocentrism to Polycentrism

¶ … Eurocentrism to Polycentrism. Specifically, it will begin with a brief summary of the reading, present a summary of the main points presented in the reading, and finally end with thoughts, questions, and a critique of the article. This article discusses the globalization of our planet and the political differences that keep people apart, rather than join them together in a cohesive whole.

From Eurocentrism to Polycentrism

The article begins with "The Myth of the West," and goes on to point out that terms that mean one thing geographically to us, mean a very different thing to many other peoples of the world. As the author notes in an important concept, "Thus politics overdetermines cultural geography." Unfortunately, that preoccupation with race, religion, and culture still exists today, which is another point the author makes throughout the article while pointing out the domination of the Eurocentric model in our "Western" culture today. This in itself is ambiguous, because the European continent is made up of numerous cultures, however, it has become the model for "Western" thought and ideals, which the author acknowledges is a "collective heritage." Thus, our dependence on Europe as the developer and creator of Western thought and ideals ignores the many developments other advanced cultures have made around the world, and ignores the meshing of thoughts and ideas in ancient cultures that resulted in "modern" thought and science. The author maintains much of this dependence on Eurocentrism began with Colonialism and the spread of great European nations across the globe as they jockeyed for political and geographical supremacy. Racism tends to be a major component of colonialist thought, and unfortunately, Colonialism has not disappeared today. The Euro supremist attitude still exists in the "West," and so, there are still great gaps between our global economy and our separatist and elitist outlooks, and this is the greatest obstacle facing polycentrism today. As the author wryly notes, "Multicultural bellies, full of tacos, felafel, and chow mein, are sometimes accompanied by monocultural minds." Even the term "Third World" conjures up thoughts of lesser beings in another world that cannot compete mentally, physically, or politically with the Eurocentric and powerful nations of the world.

Ultimately, the author's main point is that the West dominates the rest of the world in power, thinking, and imperialistic racism. The West enjoys "60 per cent of a global wealth drawn in substantial measure from the Third World," and so, we have simply renamed racism and bondage, and we still subjugate the many for the good of the few. Sadly, we have not learned or grown from our mistakes, and so, we continue to perpetuate them for future global generations. The author's point is well taken in this article, and a bit startling. It is difficult to think of life not improving for so many millions around the globe, and that we still perpetuate the Eurocentric attitude of supremacy and political clout. Personally, this article was difficult to read - not because of the level of writing, but because the points it made were often painful and unsettling. It seems our beliefs and politics are so deeply ingrained, that we may never be able to change or eliminate them. A "perfect" world is of course unattainable, but it is clear we are still very far from a perfect world, and this article shows just how far we really need to go to attain true and meaningful polycentrism. Sadly, the world still depends on political, cultural, and geographical differences, rather than looking toward the qualities that make us much more alike than different. As the author writes, "We would call for amore flexible conceptual framework to accommodate different and even contradictory dynamics in diverse world zones." Unfortunately, even in a world that struggles for more enlightenment, we seem to still be in the dark about the commonalities we share, and can only zero in on the differences between us. Only when we can get past "East" and "West," "Third World" and "First World" can we even begin to come together as one people of one world.