The west and the rest

A pleasure to read. I enjoyed the first 3 chapters that present a theory for society and how membership holds the nation together.

This is the second book of Roger Scruton I have read and found that the initial chapters are much better than the last ones. However, I was very impressed with it and I even plan to reread the chapter on ‘The social contract’ and ‘Enlightenment, citizenship, and loyalty.’ The other chapters did not bring much and tasted shallow as if Roger had run out of steam.

I think that there is a good excuse of the weak ending. If Roger is correct, -and I think he is- the West is in real trouble and truly there is no way out. Several titanic forces are converging in Europe today: European lack of fertility, Muslim emigration, and the death of that nation state. Europeans are not having children, their cities are being taken over by Muslims that cannot be nor want to be integrated into the society, and there is no and over arching ideology –‘God is dead,’ etc.-holding the European together. On top of this, ruling elites guide toward the silliest integrations of nations that do not have much in common. –I feel like Cassandra, ‘Winds of war are rising in the West.’

His proposal to address the problem are really impossible to implement. Who will be able to stop globalization? Who care rebuild the lost faith of the hedonist european? Who can made them have more children? It is over, finito, kaputt for Europe.

Let me say, what Roger was not willing to say, ‘Nothing could stop this train. What can we do but to watch a train running into a thick wall? Hold yourself tight and pray for a quick ending it you still believe in God.’