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Chapter XII - ON THE LAST 2,500 YEARS IN WESTERN HISTORY: AND SOME REMARKS ON THE COMING 500

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
Johan Galtung ,
Erik Rudeng  and
Tore Heistad
Edited by
Peter Burke
Johan Galtung
Affiliation:
University of Oslo Institut Universitaire d’ Études de Développement, Geneva
Erik Rudeng
Affiliation:
University of Oslo
Tore Heistad
Affiliation:
University of Oslo
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Summary

Introduction

It may be an indiscreet question, but it is nevertheless a highly legitimate one: ‘What actually happened during the last 2,500 years in Western history?’ – given that the answer should be a chapter rather than a book, one lecture rather than a series. There is nothing more illegitimate in this question than to ask for a description of what happens at street level as seen from a helicopter circling above, with a macro-view of the situation. This view would necessarily lack insight into the micro-perspective possessed by drivers and pedestrians, their anguish and delight or sheer boredom in trying to match their intentions to get ahead with their capabilities, against the intentions and capabilities of others in the traffic throng. It is legitimate to give answers in terms of traffic flows and charts, of periods of movement and periods of standstill, of the traffic being most rapid in the centre of the lanes and very slow towards the edges (as in hydrodynamics); an analysis of traffic does not have to be through the eyes and minds of those involved although that helps understanding. The question is not illegitimate, it is only indiscreet because of the difficulty of answering; itself a good reason why the question is usually rejected. And yet the question tends to appear and reappear: it is unnecessary to invoke a curious Martian on a quick visit wanting to get some information about ‘this thing called Western history’.

Type
Chapter
Information
The New Cambridge Modern History , pp. 318 - 362
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1979

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