Booksology Douglas Murray begins “The War on the West” (2022) with a haunting line:
“In recent years it has become clear that there is a war going on: a war on the West.”
This is not your usual war, Murray stresses. It is not fought with tanks or missiles. Instead, it is being fought within the West by people who ignorantly or maliciously wish to destroy everything good about the Western tradition.
“The War on the West” contends with the unfair accusations leveled against the West (that is, “European countries or countries descended from European civilization”).
Murray’s opponents are the academics and activists who see the West, its history and traditions, as uniquely problematic, as especially racist, sexist and oppressive to the point of hardly having any redemptive qualities.
“The War on the West” traces out this strand of anti-Western sentiment, exposing the double-standard it operates on.
For instance, early in the book, Murray discusses the problem of racism.
Racism has plagued all human societies throughout history. The West, like everyone else, is guilty of this sin.
But the West has also undergone a tremendous fight to stamp out racism, “led by the example of some remarkable men and women of every racial background, but most notably by some extraordinary black Americans,” as Murray puts it.
And yet, Murray observes a shocking development. He writes:
“In recent years, it has come to sound as though that fight never happened. As though it was a mirage. In recent years, I have come to think of racial issues in the West as being like a pendulum that has swung past the point of correction and into overcorrection.”
Suddenly, the issue of racism has exploded in the West. We have been pushed into “racial ultra-awareness” to the point where none of Western history and culture is safe from the charge of racism.
But while the West’s supposed racism is trumpeted from the roofs day and night, there is a conspicuous silence about the rest of the world. Murray points out:
“Terrible racism exists at present across Africa, expressed by black Africans against other black Africans. The Middle East and the Indian subcontinent are rife with racism.”
Where are the protests about the mistreatment of foreign workers in the Middle East or the degradation of the “untouchables” in India, he asks.
Murray is obviously not trying to shift the blame by pointing the finger at someone else. He is instead demanding a certain level of honesty. If the West is to be held accountable for racism, so must the rest of the world.
Those in the West who are quick to pounce on any instance of racism by white people are suspiciously quiet about racism elsewhere in the world. The reason is glaringly obvious. Racism by non-white people is an inconvenient fact for those who criticize the West as uniquely evil.
According to Murray, the activists and academics have it exactly wrong. The West, for all its sins, is not uniquely racist. On the contrary, it is uniquely un-racist.
This is the gist of “The War on the West.” Whether grappling with racism, culture or colonialism, Murray strives to rebuff the double-standard used by the critics of the West.
Some of my readers may be critical of Murray’s arguments. Perhaps, you think Murray is overreacting, or that he is too sensitive about criticism of the West.
It is important to understand Murray’s position. He is someone deeply grateful to the Western tradition, for its advancements in the sciences and medicine, its struggle to abolish slavery, its continuing efforts to grant equality to women, minorities and gays.
To Murray, the good of the West outweighs its evil, and for this reason it is worth defending.
Ask yourself: is there anything about the West that is good, that is worth saving? If the answer is yes, then you already agree enough with Murray to find “The War on the West” to be deeply relevant to the questions of our time.
