著者

金子 甫

出版者

鹿児島国際大学

雑誌

地域経済政策研究 (ISSN:13458795)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.4, pp.1-16, 2004-03-31

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Professor Huntington's theory of the clash of civilizations is based on the ideas that mankind is split into some parts according to different civilizations and that there is no factor to combine the parts. He seems not to understand that commodity-exchange is a strong combining factor. Commodity-exchanges which mediate the division of labuor among people of different families are connectors to form human society. They have necessarily spread over the world by the power of great profits they give. The more exchanges among people develop, the more antagonistic relations get restrained, and the more confrontations among nations and states become relaxed. The greatest factor which causes dangerous clashes is not the differences of civilizations but communism that abolishes commodity-exchanges. Communist forces destroy human society by abolishing market and also attack all religions and civilizations other than communism. Though Huntington himself says that the most important element which defines civilizations is religion, he is mistaken to think that the conflict between communism and liberal democracy is "only a fleeting and superficial historical phenomenon compared to the……conflictual relation between Islam and Christianity." His proposition that America should accept China's domination in Asia inclusive of Japan in order to maintain Western countries' security and prosperity is based on the above-mentioned shortsighted outlook on the human history. Being guided by this proposition, America will decline in the long run.