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Film Description
Financial historian and writer Professor Niall Ferguson follows up his documentary The Ascent of Money with this equally compelling exploration into Western civilization's global dominance. Based on Ferguson's own book, Civilization: The West and the Rest, this six-part documentary looks at the 'killer apps' of the West's success; competition, science, democracy, modern medicine, consumerism and the Protestant work ethic.
The West once ruled more than half the world. The religion it exported is still followed by a third of mankind. Above all, the way people live, or aspire to live, is unmistakably an invention of the West. All over the world, more and more human beings eat a Western diet, wear Western clothes and live in Western housing. But are we living through the beginning of the end of the West’s ascendancy?
The series contains: 1. A Tale of Two Rivers: Why Western Europe’s economy outstripped Eastern China’s, 2. The Siege: Why Central Europe turned the tide against the Ottoman Empire, 3. New Worlds: Why North America succeeded where South America failed, 4. Hearts of Darkness: Why Europe’s empires failed in their mission to 'civilize' Africa, 5. Cross-dressing Civilizations: The resurrection of the West as the 'consumer society', 6. Lost Faiths: The decline of Western beliefs - not only Christianity, but also nationalism and even Communism.
