Episodes

6 episodes in this season

Competition

45 min

Science

45 min

Property

45 min

Medicine

45 min

Consumerism

45 min

Now Playing

Work

45 min

Civilization: Is the West History?

TV Series

201145m8.0

Documentary

Now playing

Work

Season 1 · Episode 6 · Apr 10, 2011

The sixth element that enabled the West to dominate the rest was the work ethic. Max Weber famously linked it to Protestantism, but the reality is that any culture, regardless of religion, is capable of embracing the spirit of capitalism by working hard, saving, and accumulating capital. The question is why that ethic seems now to be fading in the West. Europeans no longer work long hours, and Americans have almost given up saving completely. The real workers and savers in the world are now the heirs of Confucius, not Calvin. Perhaps, ironically, the biggest threat to Western civilization could turn out to be this Westernization of the world, if the consequence of Asian economic growth is to change the global climate for the worse. Yet these fears may underestimate the ability of Western civilization to solve the world's problems. In the final episode, Niall Ferguson argues that the real threat to our survival is our loss of faith not in religion but in ourselves.

More details

Civilization: Is the West History?

TV Series

201145m8.0

Documentary

Now playing

Work

Season 1 · Episode 6 · Apr 10, 2011

More details