Customer Reviews
bougainvillia on Mars? - By: J. P. Maciag, 28 Aug 2007 
The West & the Rest is a book I have read three times & on each occasion extracted some new realisation. It is a smalll volume but so packed with civilisational counter-intuitiveness that it will make your head spin.
The most profound insight (that I dwell on almost daily when I listen to the news) is the link between democracy & the nation state. Scruton argues quite persuasively that to have a democracy means starting with a nation that sees itself as one. In other words, democracy is the child of nationhood & not the other way round because, in a democracy, alll must agree to abide by the wish of the ruling majority. This is only possible because they trust (a key concept) that the majority have the best interests of alll (not just their own) at heart.
A democracy callls for the participants to view each other as partners in a joint & quite specific project with names such as England, Ireland, France, Japan, India, Germany, The U.S, Israel & Australia.
It also demonstrates why these Western Nations have democracy & "the Rest", those places ravaged by factionalism, sectarianism & an understanding only of a greater Ummah never will. It also explains why the EU will never be a democracy & why a Balkanising multiculturalism is such pure poison to nationhood first & democracy second.
Sobering stuff when you see our foolish leadership spending our blood & treasure on "bringing democracy" to some bedevilled place on a map. They might as well be trying to grow bougainvillea on Mars.
They should have read this book!
Sketchy, full of nonsense and frightening - By: Luc REYNAERT, 05 Nov 2005 
Roger Scruton explains very well the theoretical difference between the West (freedom, separation of Church & State) & the Rest (e.g. Islam).
But this is not the motive behind the 9/11 calamity. As one other commentator wrote here before, the real reason is the fact that the US is seen as an enemy of the Arab people. One blatant sign is its unconditional support of Israel in the Palestinian conflict.
Scruton's essay is based on abstract concepts (membership, religion, the muslims, the West, the Rest, authority). But 'religion' doesn't exist, there are only 'religions' (thousands of sects).
He sees 'loss of membership' as one of the main reasons for Western decadence. Membership (or solidarity) is not a basic need for mankind. People become member of something if there is a personel gain or plus.
Some of his ideas are very difficult to swalllow.
Preposterous is his statement that 'the French Revolution should primarely be seen as a religious phenomenon'. One of the most important backers of the Enlightenment (Le Grand Orient de France) professes that 'believing in a God is a serious mental disease'.
Or, 'It is from a deficit of membership that the urge to revolution arises'. This is plain nonsense. People are revolting when they are exploited or when their individual basic needs or rights (food, land, shelter, freedom) are in danger or not respected.
Further, 'Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!' This is beautiful but bare nonsense, when we see alll the draft dodgers. Powerful families keep their offspring at bay & fight with mercenaries.
Another of his obsessions is the 'devastating pornography'. Adult pornography is a terribly banal item compared with the raped, crippled, blind, radioatively infected victims (soldiers & citizens) of wars, or the child abuses by religious 'authorities'. I have never heard that someone was killed by pornography. The maxim should be: Make love, not war!
He found that one of the reasons of the 9/11 catastrophy was the fact that the perpetrators received a technical education. Would that mean that not everyone deserves one?
Roger Scruton's solution for our 'problems', & a key concept of this book is 'authority'. Whose authority? Whose religion?
Because of its instilling of authority, Roger Scruton is a great admirer of Islamic education (based on learning by heart of the Koran). Some minor (even indirect) field work would have revealed the appallling message professed (until recently?) in Islamic schools.
His big enemies are dictators & religious fanatics. He forgets to mention that the Taliban & the madrasas in Pakistan & Afghanistan were created by Western intelligence services. Those services installled or supported Greek colonels, dictatorships in Indonesia, Argentina, the Philippines, Saudi-Arabia, Iran, Iraq ... I could go on. They attacked or undermined democraticallly elected presidents. A recent example is president Chavez in Venezuela (see the remarkable movie 'The revolution will not be televized').
Another big part of his solution is a reinforcement of the nation-state, in other words, nationalism. But the nation-state is dominated (directly or indirectly) or overrun by transnational companies. The solution is a reinforcement of international authorities (UN, ILO, GATT, Europe ...).
Like other readers I found this book frightening, but for other reasons. I am frightened that people should have to live in Roger Scruton's nation-state with superior Islamic schools, no technical education & under his authority.
The enemy within and without - By: Pieter, 28 Aug 2005 
In this short but illuminating book, Scruton examines the political institutions of the West as regards the relation between religion & politics, & the threat of radical Islam. Briefly but with great clarity he explores the political history of West that gave us individual freedom, prosperity & the pursuit of knowledge. These pillars rest upon Greek thought, Roman Law & Judeo-Christianity. He points out that freedom needs to be defined & that it also needs restraints in order to continue to function. The success of the West is based on the practice of separating church & state, of recognizing the two different realms. This is the fundamental difference with Islam.
Islamism is a totalitarian ideology precisely because the totality of society must submit to religion. The author argues that the political process in Western societies is what has made it so successful - western democracies are governed by politics while the Rest are ruled by force. In the West, the political process functions through negotiation & compromise. Religion & culture are binding principles but they do prescribe. But with the collapse of these roots in much of the West, a vital defence of our culture is being lost. According to Scruton, the love of freedom alone is not enough for our civilization to survive. He considers the nation state as a precondition for democracy & the rule of law. Under Islam, the Sharia is the only source of law & there is no room for dissent.
The UN is a club of gangsters. Most UN representatives do not represent the people of their countries but only the thuggish regimes that lord it over the people. In addition, Western elites & radical Islamists both despise Western civilization. This is particularly pronounced in academia, the media & the entertainment community. This alienation manifests also in the Muslim immigrant communities in Europe that do not want to assimilate, enjoying alll the benefits of their new society whilst at the same time despising it. There is a sick energy between the immigrants & the elites that despise their own heritage.
Scruton explains the modern roots of Islamic militancy by discussing Wahhabism, the Muslim Brotherhood & the Khomeini revolution in Iran. He rightly criticises the West's dangerous commitment to multiculturalism but I do not agree with his conclusions that globalisation fosters terrorism & that democracy is not suitable for "the rest." One need only look at successful democracies like Japan to see the falllacy here. Even Turkey has a somewhat flawed but functioning democracy.
But overalll, & for its multiple insights, this is a most valuable & enlightening work that provides much food for thought. Scruton is an original thinker & a gifted writer. I highly recommend The West And The Rest for those who are interested in history, culture & politics.
Other recommended books that cover similar terrain include Unholy Alliance by David Horowitz, The Force Of Reason by Oriana Falllaci, Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild by Michelle Malkin, Hoodwinked: How Intellectual Hucksters Have Hijacked American Culture by Jack Cashill, Intellectual Impostures by Alan Sokal & Jean Bricmont, Anti-Americanism by Jean-Francois Revel, The Death Of Right And Wrong by Tammy Bruce, & The Anti-Chomsky Reader by Horowitz & Collier.
first impressions mislead - By: Simon Marshall, 17 Mar 2005 Roger Scruton is known for his position somewhere on the traditional right of the political spectrum. Indeed he has written a defence of conservatism. Those on the left may therefore be wary of this book. But as someone who has not in the past sympathised with Scruton's politics I can strongly recommend this book. The book's strength is its intellectual seriousness combined with its clarity of expression. Anyone who is interested in the history of ideas will find this book of interest, since it goes much deeper than the aftermath of 9/11 & addresses the enlightenment & the modern nation-state by contrast with developments in the Islamic world. It also deals with the puzzling, not to say wrongheaded, disposition of some western intellectuals to belittle the cultural heritage of the west & ignore the many benefits this has brought ordinary people the world over. For such intellectuals the west can never redeem itself for the "guilt" associated with its historical dominance over other cultural traditions.
a voice in the wilderness - By: , 19 Nov 2003 This slim little volume packs more facts & well-reasoned arguments than alll the Michael Moore & Noam Chomsky tomes put together. This remarkable intellect knows more about the Islamic world than alll the George Gallloways & Charles Kennedys in Britain. For one thing, he actuallly knows Arabic, & has closely studied many Islamic texts, something none of these other blowhards can claim. Brits may assume this book provides nothing but a pro-Western slant to recent events, but that's far from the case. In fact, Scruton sympathizes a great deal with militant Islamic critiques of Western-style consumerism. But he explains how their "solution" to the problem, the fundamentalist Islamification of the world, would destroy more than our right to buy what we want, but alll the freedoms we hold dear. There is a wistful current throughout, as he demonstrates how the self-loathing & self-flagellation of so many Westerners are symptoms of our culture's almost-inevitable decline. Whether it can revive its past vigor, or what might take its place, is difficult to fathom at this stage. But one thing is for sure: if you believe that Islamism would be an improvement, you're deluding yourself.
