Jul. 02, 2025 |
Looking east. In the West, people invoke “the West” so often, you might take it for granted. If you’re from Colorado or Cornwall, you might be unlikely to stop and think about what it really means. But when you think about it, it’s kind of a strange term. And if you’re from Chongqing or Chennai, what it really means might not feel so obvious. The French call it “L’Occident,” but imagine saying that in English—“the Occident.” The very word would raise the question of what it meant. But in the West, the simplicity and habit of the term “the West” help that question go unnoticed.
So what does it mean?
—Gustav Jönsson
