The Anglo-Saxon Civilization: Speedy Growth and Forewarnings of Collapse

A civilization is a set of principles, cultures, traditions, systems and branches of knowledge. It is an expression denoting several matters, all associated with advancement and progress, even though they are two different concepts. Advancement in methods and technologies does not necessarily mean progress, as the latter means adding a material value, moving forward to something better, not just something new!

The Anglo-Saxon countries are uniform nations that share the same culture, traditions, customs and systems. Among the most notable features they have in common is their application of democracy, which has grown and developed in the first half of the past century. Democracy is facing a great challenge against populism and may not stand a chance in the face of that defiant opponent. A study conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit finds that half of the earth’s population are living without democracy and only 5% of them live under regimes that may be precisely described as democracies.

The Anglo-Saxon civilization is attributed to Britain, America, Australia, Canada and Ireland. Notwithstanding this fact, the first spark of that civilization originated in Saxony-Germany and moved to England, from which it spread to the world following the emergence of the Germanic language.
A quality true of the Anglo-Saxon civilization is that it is an industrial one. It is based on exploiting the natural resources for the purpose of enhancing living. It is also a capitalist civilization that selfishly devours the world’s resources, leaving one half of the Earth’s population living on a maximum daily income of $3 US dollars, while the other half drowns in trillions of dollars!
Among the most significant manifestations of the Anglo-Saxon civilization is the knowledge revolution fueled by artificial intelligence, totally devoid of moral and humanitarian motives. This poses the question, how long will it take to move forward from the knowledge revolution to the wisdom revolution? That is a revolution that will aim first and foremost - in addition to technological and scientific advancement, innovation and power - at establishing justice. It will cause a profound upheaval in values: from “I,” “my state,” “my group,” or “my faction” to “my world.”
It is about time we move from pursuing knowledge to pursuing wisdom for every human being on earth to have a sense of responsibility. We should think of equality and the future instead of selling the future for the present, that will soon be no more.

Among the most substantial factors that will push the present civilization to ruins, is scarcity of resources and pollution. The former is the natural outcome of the ongoing depletion. Sadly, 50% of animal resources on earth have been used up throughout the past 50 years! The other 50% are expected to be deplete totally within the coming 50 years! As for the threat of pollution, the world is ignoring it despite the expected existential challenge humanity will face within the coming 10 years because of global warming and environmental pollution.
Personally, the term inter-civilization dialogue and its relevant conferences have always been an endless source of amazement. Civilization does not live, prosper, then enter into dialogues. Rather, when a civilization is born, another civilization must be fading in return. Studies suggest that the Anglo-Saxon civilization will be short-lived and cannot be expect to continue for hundreds of years. This is not a political talk that discusses military domination or who will rule the world. It is a talk about the values, democratic systems, industrial revolution and capitalist concepts represented by this civilization. They will all fade away to pave the way for the birth of a very new civilization.
The end of the Anglo-Saxon civilization has nothing to do with the US-Chinese conflict, inter-European conflicts, or Europe’s conflicts with its opponents. It has to do with the demand of creating a new international system, where we can all coexist under the banner of justice without depletion of natural resources.
The Roman Empire did not collapse when it was no longer a major state or a major economy. It became the architect of its own devastation when it focused on military power and authority and disregarded concepts, such as equality among subjects and spreading ethical principles, hence its collapse.

Why, therefore, does China raise concerns?
All the leaders of the present civilization are apprehensive about a new civilization made in China. Will China be able to impose its civilization on the world? It may be useful to remember that all people saw the Roman civilization as peculiar, but it ruled the world. Many recent American statements criticize the peculiarity of the Chinese civilization, in terms of their language, traditions and some aspects of their lifestyle.
The real conflict has just begun. Racist inclinations have served to kindle it, especially after the pandemic that brought to the surface the true selfish, populist and undemocratic face of the world. Satisfaction with the democratic system of rule has declined to its lowest point. It reached a peak towards the middle of the past century. Then, the number of countries practicing democracy retreated in the face of populism.

Finally, what will we do when we run out of oil? What will we do after the extinction of our natural resources?
It is then that we will be aware that the Anglo-Saxon civilization is ending. We will realize that the industrial economy in the age of the knowledge revolution - and its associating revolution in telecommunications and technology - is rapidly changing. It will be clear then that the knowledge revolution is a double-edged sword. Just as it has been the fastest instrument of development, it will be the swiftest weapon of destruction of the present civilization!