--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I refuse to accept that Western…" description: "\"I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. I still cling to the hop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/niall-ferguson-3627_accepting_i-refuse-to-accept-that-western-civiliza_1640484.png" --- # I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some… ![“I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. I still cling to the hope that the United States is the Mac to Europe's PC, and that if one part of the West can successfully update and reboot itself, it's America.” quote by Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/niall-ferguson-3627_accepting_i-refuse-to-accept-that-western-civiliza_1640484.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/niall-ferguson-3627_accepting_i-refuse-to-accept-that-western-civiliza_1640484.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7e/niall-ferguson-3627_accepting_i-refuse-to-accept-that-western-civiliza_1640484.png) > “I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. I still cling to the hope that the United States is the Mac to Europe's PC, and that if one part of the West can successfully update and reboot itself, it's America.” [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Western societies risk stagnation unless they innovate; America may lead renewal. **In simple terms:** West must innovate or stagnate. Key Takeaway Watch for renewal. Themes civilization innovation leadership Mood cautious optimistic Type analytical political When to use this quote - policy reform - technology adoption - education overhaul Key Concepts political science cultural renewal Questions to Reflect On - What can other Western nations do to modernize? - Is America truly the catalyst? A Different Perspective America alone cannot reboot the West. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accept Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accept-western-563082/) [Accepting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Crash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crash/) [Doomed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doomed/) [Dos Doomed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dos-doomed-563081/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Europe Pc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe-pc-563084/) [Freeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freeze/) [Hopeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeless/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Macs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/macs/) [Microsoft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microsoft/) [Reboot America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reboot-america-563083/) [Refuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuse/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Updates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/updates/) [Versions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/versions/) [West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/west/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Western civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-civilization/) ## Related quotes > [There is no such thing as getting anything easy. Trust and believe. Even if you're good at what you do, you still should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jones/there-is-no-such-thing-as-getting-anything-easy-trust-and-believe/) [Leslie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jones/) > [While we believe there are fruitful opportunities to update and improve old rules, we do not want to set up a review process that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-thompson/while-we-believe-there-are-fruitful-opportunities-to-update-and/) [Fred Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-thompson/) > [It's time to update traditional public schools, charter schools, home schools, online schools and parochial schools. Let the dollars follow the child instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/it-s-time-to-update-traditional-public-schools-charter-schools-home/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [You really can't do a remake. I mean, 'King Kong' needed its turn to be remade. 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So, if I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-spiegelman/i-would-say-that-in-the-future-the-book-will-be-reserved-for-things/) [Art Spiegelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-spiegelman/) > [“Now I read the updates on her online profile and she read mine, and that's what we were to each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/now-i-read-the-updates-on-her-online-profile-and-she-read-mine-and/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [I know there's been questions about-so how long does that continue-and we've now been very clear about that, that software updates to Symbian devices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elop/i-know-there-s-been-questions-about-so-how-long-does-that-continue/) [Stephen Elop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elop/) > [It amazes me that we are all on Twitter and Facebook. By "we" I mean adults. We're adults, right? But emotionally we're a culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/it-amazes-me-that-we-are-all-on-twitter-and-facebook-by-we-i-mean/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [Windows Updates have sometimes been a pain point for users. The update pop-ups can interrupt a movie or a video game, and the automatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-parr/windows-updates-have-sometimes-been-a-pain-point-for-users-the-update/) [Ben Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-parr/) > [We're putting all of our energy into making it right. And we have already had several software updates. We've got a huge plan to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/we-re-putting-all-of-our-energy-into-making-it-right-and-we-have/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Arya Maloney updates the basis and practice of transpersonal psychology by using the spiritual principles of India's masters and the transformational alchemy inherent in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-mindell/arya-maloney-updates-the-basis-and-practice-of-transpersonal/) [Arnold Mindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-mindell/) > [I try to update my arsenal constantly. Learning different martial arts since childhood. To understand what's out there. To really be in tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/i-try-to-update-my-arsenal-constantly-learning-different-martial-arts/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Jeph (Loeb) will call me with updates, and I'll go, "Are you f--king with me?" I never saw this coming, and certainly never saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-michael-bendis/jeph-loeb-will-call-me-with-updates-and-i-ll-go-are-you-f-king-with/) [Brian Michael Bendis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-michael-bendis/) > [Yes, we praise women over 40 for a multitude of reasons. Unfortunately, it's not reciprocal. For every stunning, smart, well-coiffed, hot woman over 40,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/yes-we-praise-women-over-40-for-a-multitude-of-reasons-unfortunately/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Niall Ferguson > [“I wrote this book because I had formed a strong impression that the people currently living were paying insufficient attention to the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-wrote-this-book-because-i-had-formed-a-strong-impression-that-the/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“Consider this: the US economy created 2.4 million jobs in the three years beginning in June 2009. In the same period, 3.3 million Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/consider-this-the-us-economy-created-2-4-million-jobs-in-the-three/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“Is it better today to be in a network, which gives you influence, than in a hierarchy, which gives you power?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/is-it-better-today-to-be-in-a-network-which-gives-you-influence-than/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [As a teacher, my strategy is to encourage questioning. I'm the least authoritarian professor you'll ever meet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/as-a-teacher-my-strategy-is-to-encourage-questioning-i-m-the-least/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [Ask me not, 'Are you rightwing,' but ask me 'Are you a committed believer in individual freedom, the values of the enlightenment?' Then, yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/ask-me-not-are-you-rightwing-but-ask-me-are-you-a-committed-believer/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“Many historians still tend to assume that the spread of an idea or an ideology is a function of its inherent content in relation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/many-historians-still-tend-to-assume-that-the-spread-of-an-idea-or-an/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“the twentieth century ran a series of experiments, imposing quite different institutions on two sets of Germans (in West and East), two sets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/the-twentieth-century-ran-a-series-of-experiments-imposing-quite/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“Historians are not scientists. They cannot (and should not even trying to) establish universal laws of social or political "physics" with reliable predictive powers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/historians-are-not-scientists-they-cannot-and-should-not-even-trying/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [You really struggle to be a successful empire if you are also the world's biggest debtor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/you-really-struggle-to-be-a-successful-empire-if-you-are-also-the/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“One difficulty is that we cannot always reconstruct the past thoughts of these non-Western peoples, for not all of them existed in civilizations with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/one-difficulty-is-that-we-cannot-always-reconstruct-the-past-thoughts/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [If young men have jobs - or the prospects of jobs - they are less likely to take up arms, they are less likely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/if-young-men-have-jobs-or-the-prospects-of-jobs-they-are-less-likely/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [I think that it is important to be gregarious, and that friendships are not just a leisure pursuit, that they are an integral part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-that-it-is-important-to-be-gregarious-and-that-friendships/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“The question was simply this: Would the world be French or British?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/the-question-was-simply-this-would-the-world-be-french-or-british/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [“it is not ‘Eurocentrism’ or (anti-)‘Orientalism’ to say that the rise of Western civilization is the single most important historical phenomenon of the second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/it-is-not-eurocentrism-or-anti-orientalism-to-say-that-the-rise-of/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) [Explore all 124 Niall Ferguson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) ## More Accepting quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [We only enter into the full life if our faith gives thanks. Because how else do we accept His free gift of salvation if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-voskamp/we-only-enter-into-the-full-life-if-our-faith-gives-thanks-because/) [Ann Voskamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-voskamp/) > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It takes an unusually philosophic mind to accept that all one’s suffering might be to no end, really, in the larger scheme of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-takes-an-unusually-philosophic-mind-to-accept-that-all-one-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [No nation being under another nation can accept gifts, and kick at the responsibility attached to those gifts, imposed by the conquering nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/no-nation-being-under-another-nation-can-accept-gifts-and-kick-at-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [Society understands the architecture of academia and knows there are relevant qualifications in different fields, and the media accepts the idea of specialisations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-griffiths/society-understands-the-architecture-of-academia-and-knows-there-are/) [Jay Griffiths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-griffiths/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Losing someone is easy, but accepting it is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/losing-someone-is-easy-but-accepting-it-is-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I think what was special about 'Music by Prudence' was the classic story of the title subject's life path - from being an outcast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-think-what-was-special-about-music-by-prudence-was-the-classic/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [As my films are born at the moment when they are reflected into another person's mind and memories, there are no misconceptions. I totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pirjo-honkasalo/as-my-films-are-born-at-the-moment-when-they-are-reflected-into/) [Pirjo Honkasalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pirjo-honkasalo/) [Browse all 6,788 Accepting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accepting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I refuse to accept that Western civilization is like some hopeless old version of Microsoft DOS, doomed to freeze, then crash. 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