THE BETRAYAL OF THE WEST Jacques Ellul Translated by Matthew J. O'Connell A Continuum Book ‘THE SEABURY PRESS - NEW YORKProxocer Chapter 1 (Chapter (Chapter Epilogue Noms CONTENTS DEFENSE OF THE WEST 1. Guilty, Not Guilty 1 2 Defense of Western Man 3. Mystery ofthe West 68 THE TRULY POOR AND THE END OF THE LEFT 1 The Truly Poor 85 2. The Shipwreck ofthe Let 125 THE BETRAYAL OF THE WEST 1, The Betrayal of Reason and History The Uropist, the Geometer and the Technician M48 2, The Betrayal ofthe Individual: The Executioner 169 3, The Betrayal of Lave and Freedom: The Grand Inquisitor 180 THOSE WHOM GOD WISHES TO DESTROY, HE FIRST MAKES MAD 201PROLOGUE 1 isnot clear what there is sll to say about the West, aftr Massis, Spengler, Sombart,Dandicw, Ortega ¥ Gasset, Mal. aun, and others have meditated on the greatness ad deck ‘of western cvlzation or ave spoken out in ie defense [Not everything has been sid, however. In thie critical ie when our chvlzation is being challenged, rejected without due Consideration, and condemned with argument that are aot all Dad, but with no one 10 plead in its defense except afew fascists whose weapon nthe bludgeon, we must ty once again A look st ourselves in the mieror. We mus try to discern our tue faces behind the nas, and, despite the distorted fe tures that confront us: to rasp our own truth before the Bal defacement, which cannot e far off Thaveno intention of doing again what Ruts Namadianas did Jong ayo or of writing an apology." Nonetheles, when Confronted with the mounting hateed and condemnation of the westem world andthe suicidal renzyof many Europes, Inwho have attacked the technical sockery and its scienulic ational fel obliged to show that theres al avery fer. tent side 1 the West. The West represents values for which theres no subsite The end ofthe West today would mean the end of any possible ciation.The Betrayal of the Wat «i 1 can immediatly sce the scientists, the sociologis, the historians, and the political sciemtint wrinkling their notes or their foreheads, depending om the myths they fallow. I can thea them saying in accents of scomm "The West? What i the West? Is there any bond uniting Sweden and lay? There is tho such thing ate West: there area hundted west! Is there nova greater difference between Spain and Russia than be tween the Spaniards ofthe south and the Arabs or between the Russians of the eat and the Mongols? Where docs your west cern chilization’ top? What are ts boundaries? Is it to be ound in Europe? But which Eutope? Do you inchide ot ex clude Russia? Turkey? Ts or isnot America part of this western ‘iulization?” The question can, of course, be turned back om the ques tioner. Bur Iam too familiar withthe attempts to compare iilrations not to grasp the weight of the objection, The tthole of southern Europe was invaded by the Arabs for cent Fler on end the Arabs who brought t everything that made fom Aristotle to mathematics, Hom iigation to mysticism, the east was invaded and occupied by the Huns, the Hungarians, and xo many other people. As for Christianity. went not forget that it came fom the eat! The West ike St Mark's in Venice. which was but withthe spoil fal the tes, palaces, trmphal arches, cokimns, and portios the Venetians had pillaged. There is no distinct thing called the Wert, but only accumulations of materials derived from all cover the place. The West isa sct of interactions and, Besides, ‘four so-called western civilization disappears, it has already Spread Usroughout the world, 0 that all peoples are nov "Yes yes, I realize that exact statements on this matter are impossible. have no intention of getting iwvolved once again inthe debate onthe possibility of scientealy establishing the data of the social sciences. Noone has ever been able to give 8 precise and satsving definiaon ofall ts concept uch a5 ‘lass or ideology, and yt without these concepts there woul bbe mo such thing as sociology of polieal science. ee 3 fact that despite the uncertainty about the scientific character of Prologue «ix these sciences men continue t0 speak about the subjects of them, and they understand one another. We can, therefore ‘only appeal to "pre-conceptions” and "metalanguage Tn any cae, “West” word different from al others and there is no substitute for it I evokes images and sts emo tions, and these are nt false because they are the emotion laden image of the West! The West i 4 past adifference, a shared history, and a shared human project and itis our very fe. We may not be able to grasp it clearly or to define scientifically, but then, in sich matters as these refinement nd precision are deadly because they lead t 3 false sense of intellectual superionty thats won atthe cst ofa great pov erishment. Tn there matters we must be satisfied with rather loose and generic criteria Sorry to offend you, but being a Frenchman not the same as being 4 Chinese, Having a tong Christan past isnot the same as having 4 Muslim past. Having con ‘quered the world i not the same as having been conquered Having created madern science afer a millennia of groping is not the same as having repeated the rituals of magic over aver or having accidentally stumbled om dincoveries. To hhave given priority to rationality or the future or “having” toate set out on a completely diferent road from that fo lowed by other human groups, That the sort of thing that serves me as rough approximation. The West? We know perfec well what itTHE BETRAYAL OF THE WEST(CHAPTER I DEFENSE OF THE WEST 1 Guilty, Not Guilty The West has a bad name these days: in fat, everywhere people are trying to escape from the sinking ship. The West Blanes to blame for eveything It har descended on the rest ‘ofthe world, subjugating peoples who wanted only to live in peace (or x0 saye our new "Story ofthe Centuries)" These peoples were happy. productive, poli, and well fed; they tere ignorant of war. evil, and slavery: they enjoyed security Sn were supported by philesophy, In other words, the golden tage, new svle—or not relly ro new, since the slic pictre ff China or the Arab empite the Banta world or the Aztec fmpire repeats all the nable-minded effusions of the eigh teenth century IF there ate any proponents lft today of the tiyth of the noble savage, they are surely the people who ell ti without a smile ofthat marvelous world that existed before the Westerner came, Al the arts and refinements of ile were torbe found n that happy world that Knew not death or sin oF ‘shame, oppression or morahty, a wold where nate wa hindered and produced the innocent human beingPhe Betrayal ofthe Wet