This blog post examines why Eastern and Western civilizations, starting from the same point, took divergent paths and the background behind the West’s technological dominance.
From ancient times to the present, humanity has continuously evolved in pursuit of a better life. Broadly speaking, this evolutionary process can be divided into Eastern and Western trajectories. Given their differences in geography, culture, and historical background, these two regions developed in distinct ways. Since culture is relative, it’s difficult to definitively declare one superior. However, purely in terms of technological advancement, it’s an undeniable fact that the West has led since the modern era. Western technology spread to the East, and during the imperialist era, Western powers colonized many Eastern nations.
Let us recall when civilization first emerged. The so-called four great ancient civilizations—Mesopotamian, Yellow River, Egyptian, and Indus—are considered the earliest. The regions typically associated with the West, Europe and America, were distant from these early civilizations. This indicates that Western civilization was not inherently superior from the outset. So why did a technological gap emerge between the East and West over time?
The most crucial factor explaining this difference is likely revolutions. Unlike the East, the West experienced numerous revolutions, both large and small. The Industrial Revolution, the Renaissance, and the Civic Revolution are prime examples. These revolutions went beyond mere social change; they played a pivotal role in accelerating technological and scientific progress. The ideological differences between East and West became more pronounced due to these revolutions. Among these, changes to the class system significantly contributed to the development of Western society.
Both East and West once had class systems. This system, stemming from the human instinct to assert dominance over others, might be seen as a natural outcome. However, in the West, the strictness of the class system began to crumble early on due to the civic revolutions. As a result, opportunities to pursue one’s abilities without being constrained by social status increased in the West. This heightened the dynamism of society as a whole and laid the foundation for technological innovation.
The ideological differences between the West and the East are evident not only in the caste system but also in attitudes toward money. Many Eastern countries, particularly Korea, influenced by Confucian thought, viewed the pursuit of money as vulgar. Consequently, merchants engaged in commerce were also considered to have lowly occupations. In contrast, the West viewed money positively, and efforts to create new opportunities through it flourished. This difference led to differences in economic structure and further became the background for the West’s technological advancement.
The geographical conditions of the West also played a significant role. In the past, Europe was not organized by nation-states but by numerous families each occupying their own lands and competing with one another. This competition compelled each family and nation to constantly pursue development. In contrast, Eastern nations formed states based on ethnic groups, resulting in relatively less competition. Furthermore, diplomatic relations between Eastern nations were generally favorable. For example, the relationships between Joseon and the Ming Dynasty, and between Joseon and the Qing Dynasty, were so amicable they were often described as brotherly. These differences led to a desperate race to surpass others in the West, becoming a major driving force for technological advancement.
The clear technological gap between East and West ultimately resulted from revolution. Despite the East’s early lead in civilization’s development, the West reversed this through revolution and has maintained that lead into the modern and contemporary eras. The scarcity of notable revolutions in Eastern history may also be attributed to conservative thinking hindering technological advancement. Revolutions did not merely alter institutions and social structures; they sparked new ways of thinking, laying the groundwork for technological innovation.
Furthermore, the emergence of figures in Western history can be viewed as another form of revolution. For instance, figures like Napoleon or Einstein achieved innovations capable of changing their times, which in turn profoundly impacted society as a whole. In conclusion, revolutions improved people’s perceptions, and these shifts in perception created the disparity in technological development. Revolutions went beyond structural societal change to open new possibilities, which is one of the decisive reasons the West became technologically more advanced than the East.
