How do you respond when you meet someone who utterly hates themselves, magnifies every fault they have, dwells on every mistake they made, minimises their successes and strengths, idealises everyone else and desires that they be attacked and destroyed? Would you encourage them to continue like that? Would you agree with them and put the boot in? Or would you point out the gross distortions in their thinking, help them re-evaluate and restore healthy self-esteem before improving their lives?

When the planes slammed into the World Trade Center in 2001, our enemies were thrilled. Unfortunately so was part of us, the suicidal part that hates ourselves, thinking that we are the worst thing ever to happen to the world. Part of us so hates our civilization that it revels in every opportunity to criticise it and undermine it. The suicidal part of us thinks we should just eliminate ourselves and leave the world to the other more enlightened, less harmful civilizations…except that there aren’t any. Yes, Western Civilization has done a lot of harm and has a lot of faults but if we are going to rubbish it and replace it, we need to know what we are comparing it to and with what we intend to replace it.

Imperialism, genocides, racism, slavery and exploitation are not a Western vice. They are a human vice. All tribal, ethnocentric cultures are racist, exclude others and intermittently try to take the land, women and resources of others. All power-based, hierarchical empires use the available technology and resources to dominate and exploit as many others as they can. We are just a bit further along the developmental curve than the others, so we’ve had a unilateral advantage of technology, money and organisation. So Western Civilization did it bigger, harder, deeper and faster.

Some Europeans and Americans did participate in the slave trade which was, undeniably, utterly evil and totally unacceptable in our modern values. But if you choose to hang your head in shame for such past crimes, you need to be aware that Africans, Arabs and most other peoples participated in slavery before, during and after that period, and, in some cases, continue to do so to this day. Which civilization was the first to outlaw slavery and to use its military power and financial resources to suppress it elsewhere? Britain, followed by the rest of the West. Who, by contrast, is still using slavery? You might also ask yourself, what are you doing to stop present day slavery?

Western Civilization wins head and shoulders above the rest in the race to destroy the planet, use up all its resources and create weapons of mass destruction. There is no denying that. But the genie is out of the bottle and the others are just as keen to industrialise and arm themselves. Erasing Western Civilization isn’t going to help there.

Have you travelled and had an honest conversation with people throughout the developing world? If not, please do. You’ll find racism, nationalism, religious intolerance, homophobia, prejudice, patriarchy and every other form of bigoted view alive and well. I’m not saying it is right or attempting to justify any of it – they are ugly aspects of human nature – I’m saying that this picture of the West as a uniquely flawed civilization is naïve, at best, and actually…rather racist. If you want to make comparisons, do it fairly.

Where are people of multiple ethnic and racial backgrounds most able to live together in harmony with the least discrimination? Where are people working hardest to eradicate racism, sexism and homophobia? In which nations does the law treat people most fairly? Which countries are people queuing up to get in to? Where do the wealthy put their money to keep it safe? Where do they live longest? Where is there least crime? Where are you most likely to be able to fulfil your potential, regardless of your background and start in life? Where is a person with ideas, energy and skill most able to make their dreams come true? Where is it most likely that the government represents the people’s will and interests, however imperfectly? Where do governments change without bloodshed according to the will of the people? Where are the weak, poor and vulnerable best looked after? Where are you most free to believe and say whatever you like? Where are minorities most safe and most respected? Where are the police least corrupt? Where are companies most adaptively regulated and held to account for their actions? Where is wealth most fairly distributed? Where do minorities have rights? Where are people free to follow any religion or none?

‘Oh, you’re not being fair. You’re asking biased questions.’ True. Let’s try some others.

Where are people happiest? Where are communities most resilient? Where are the elderly best cared for? Where are people best at healing the sick? Where do people live most in harmony with nature? Where are people most respectful of the divine and sacred? Where do investors put their money to make money? Where do people most value family and relationships? Where do people treat their animals the best? Which countries are getting stronger and more powerful? Which countries have the most secure industrial base? Which communities could best survive the loss of electricity, satellite communication or a financial crash? Who is saving the most for their future? Which countries have enough young people to support the old and sick? Who is most in touch with their ancestors and traditions? Who is using the planet’s resources most fairly? Which civilizations are environmentally, financially and demographically sustainable?

Oh, we don’t score so well there. Clearly the part of us that has a pathological hatred for our own culture should be spending its time envisioning and creating a better future, rather than wasting its energy on an antagonistic, destructive victim mentality. Don’t waste time on the game of arguing whether Western Civilization is better or worse than the others. Keep an open mind. Be vigilant. Learn from the others. Leave them alone to choose their own way. Focus on making ourselves as fulfilled and successful as we can be.

OK, so what is the score? Is Western Civilization a good thing or a bad thing? Has it been a success or failure? Should we be proud of it or hold our heads in shame? Well, it depends whose perspective you take, of course. Things look very different from the perspective of Europeans, Americans, colonised peoples and indigenous peoples. But what about a perspective that encompasses the whole of humanity and seeks to realise human potential? How do things look from that view point? Wouldn’t it make sense to adopt that kind of broad, forward-looking perspective instead of our traditional ones? A good start might be to create a positive/negative balance sheet for Western Civilization.