I Paddled Me A Holy Man

Historically, "wealth leveling" has always resulted in more poverty for the masses and a greater disparity between the haves and have nots.

 

Has it?

 

Yeah, I agree with a lot of what you say. My post was really directed at ktc who was asking some pretty basic questions about history with some references that suggested to me some kind of half-baked Anglo-Christian supremacy thesis: "Even a cursory look at history will show 'Christian' societies to have been more successful financially, medically, industrially, in inventions......and on and on." What does that mean?

 

Sorry - got my signals crossed there. But I'm glad you broadly agree.

I think one important aspect of history is the fact that it was europeans who first developed serious technology. This then enabled them to go out and forge the big empires of the 19th C. I suppose it's possible to trace the roots of science back to the renaissance, and even further to people like Bacon in the middle ages, and the history of western philosophy IMO rests very much on the foundation laid by the medieval scholastic Christian philosophers such as Thomas Aquinas.
I don't think there's any big significance in the fact that it was in Christendom that technology advanced though. In a lot of ways, I actually think it had a lot to do with the harsher northern climates, which perhaps focused people more on pragmatic ways to improve their living conditions, unlike in say India, where the climate is warmer.
Some imperialists had what seems to have been in their own minds, a sincere missionary impulse, but mainly, it was all about trade and wealth.

Personally, I have little time for the kind of Anglo-Christian supremacy you mention. I know too much about the detail of english history. It's just another divisive stance in a world where I think we need to break down divisions, certainly not re-vamp old ones as some far right 'christians' are trying to do.

Peace.