Western Orthodoxy

The established, institutionalized set of beliefs, values, and practices that define mainstream Western civilization's self-understanding—the often-unexamined assumptions that shape what counts as normal, rational, and legitimate in Western societies. Western orthodoxy includes commitments to individualism, democracy, capitalism, human rights, progress, science, and secularism—not as contingent historical developments but as simply "how things should be." It frames Western history as the story of progress toward freedom and reason, non-Western societies as catching up or falling behind, and Western institutions (markets, elections, courts) as the natural models for all societies. Like all orthodoxies, Western orthodoxy serves to provide coherence and identity, but it can also function as ideology—making Western dominance seem natural and inevitable, obscuring violence and exploitation, and delegitimizing alternative ways of organizing society. Understanding Western orthodoxy is essential for recognizing the assumptions that shape global politics, economics, and culture—and for imagining alternatives.

Example: "He assumed that democracy and capitalism were simply the best ways to organize society—not because he'd examined alternatives, but because Western orthodoxy had made them seem like common sense. The orthodoxy was invisible to him because he was inside it."

Western Orthodoxy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026