By Briana Booker
The decline of the West is inevitable because of the West’s mentality of being too big to fail. Being the product of a western ideology, I have observed in history books, current events and my own personal life that the West strives for what mankind would otherwise say is unattainable: World Peace, a world without poverty, a world without diseases and a world without hunger.
Living in a house made of glass, the West is arrogant, ruthless and power-hungry. Based on these traits, the West is walking down a path of self-demise or suicide away from its High-profile status of being a Super-power.
The decline of the West reminds me of the play The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, where Willy Loman, a travelling Salesman, dedicates his life to achieving the American Dream of success, prosperity and happiness. Loman sold his soul in pursuit of that unattainable American Dream. The result was a tragedy.
Just as Loman, the West is striving to create a world where dreams can live, overlooking acknowledging that these dreams can never be fully achieved.
Those that believe the West is not in decline will say that the West is impacting the world in positive and influential ways such as creating vaccines to tackle epidemic disease, reproducing food faster and bigger, and speeding up the process of trade and financial transactions. Those in favor of the West state that capitalism, with its liberalized markets and promotion of individual freedoms will make for a better, safer world for all. But in reality poverty in the world is expanding, including in the West with 14.3 percent of Americans in 2009’s American Community survey conducted by Alemayehu Bishaw and Suzanne Macartney having income below their expected need for their household or personal income threshold ( U.S Census 2010). The land known for prosperity is not living up to its name.
Citizens of Western culture are lowering their faith in Westernized governments and institutions. People strongly believe the system, its policies, leaders and laws are corrupt. The citizens have joined the world in lost faith in this once beloved Western Super-power. Growing up I have always been told the best place in the world to live is America for its freedom and its ability to give anyone the opportunity to dream for their hearts and minds. Although I believe if a person works hard enough anything is possible, sometimes I think back to Loman who worked hard and still did not taste a drop of the American dream.
The world can see the Western system is deteriorating based on its mismanagement. Micro-corporations are failing. The education system is inadequate. Violent crimes are escalating.