“
What are the Killer Apps?
What set the West apart from the rest of the world? These six functional complexes, or “killer applications” led the West’s rise to global dominance.
Competition
Competition
European decentralization fostered the growth of political and economic competition, birthing the nation-state and the rise of capitalism.
Timeline: China and the West 1368-1842
Discussion: A Culture without Competition
Science
Science
While eastern Muslim powers slowed scientific progress in their own region, the Christian West advanced militarily and academically.
Timeline: The West and The Ottoman Empire 1515-1923
Discussion: Science and Religion
Property
Property
Widespread land ownership and its ties to the democratic process gave the United States a more productive, stable footing than its neighbors to the south.
Discussion: The Importance of Land Ownership
Map: American Expansion – U.S.A. and Gran Colombia
Modern Medicine
Modern Medicine
Developed and shared throughout colonial outposts in Africa and elsewhere, Western medicine has the power to double life expectancy.
Book Excerpt: Médecins sans Frontières
Discussion: Life without Modern Medicine
Consumerism
Consumerism
The 20th century witnessed a new model of civilization centered around consumption, as American goods and fashion carried the message of Western freedom.
Book Excerpt: Turning Western
Discussion: Western Clothing
Work Ethic
Protestantism in America stressed hard work, saving, and literacy. Yet today while Americans save less and fewer Europeans attend church, there are around 40 million or more Protestants in China.”
Thanks!