Uncivilised: Ten Lies that Made the West

by Subhadra Das

Some things are a given: knowledge is power, time is money, justice is blind.

But many of the big ideas that underpin Western civilisation are just that - ideas. Taking cues from Greek philosophy and honed in the Enlightenment, certain notions about humanity and society grew into the tenets we still live by today, and we haven't questioned them a great deal since.

But what if they're not just ideas? What if they're outright lies? Isn't it time we asked who really benefits from the values at the core of our society? What is unbiased about a science that conjured up 'race'? Who do laws and nations actually protect? What even is 'art'? And the real question: is the West really as 'civilised' as it thinks it is?

Uncivilised puts everything back on the table and asks readers to reconsider what they thought they knew about civilisation, starting with the ten lies that have shaped their lives.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Cultural, Education, Politics

304 pages, Hardcover

Published June 18, 2024

Reviews

[Violet Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book that should be compulsory reading. If you want to get to the route of why Western Civilisation and the route it took to get there isn't so civilised - read this book. Subhadra Das takes readers through core pillars of Western ideas combining art, philosophy, politics, science and education to reveal the origins of our 'civilised-ness' actually lies in exploitation, slavery, empire and the taking of ideas from other cultures and calling them our own. Enlightening, engaging and such an important read. (🎧)

[f · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reading experience was decent, it was casual and felt conversational. But the content was seriously lacking. I was hoping that the author would point out instances where the West has culturally or actually oppressed the rest of the world by mislabelling them uncivilised. But instead, I received many irrelevant, but quite interesting, information on the author's life and things she has learned.

Instead, the author merely set out examples where the West has oppressed the rest, which is, if you are not living under a rock - not a surprise to anyone. There are quite a lot of pointless dialogue and information. I found the chapter on death interesting but completely irrelevant to the point she tried to make. The chapter on democracy seemed to carry the most amount of thought but still failed to convince me that labelling Western civilisation due to its democratic nature is mistaken; even when it is not Athenian democracy but a representative democracy system. It is quite true that being born rich and white has certainly its own overwhelming advantages in modern society. Yet, with globalisation and mass immigration, you start to see more and more immigrant politicians. Working class politicians are also making a comeback in Western countries. The author stated that under representative democracy, citizens are allowed only the right to choose who writes the policies but not what the policies are. This may be true but with proper scrutiny and public interests, the public can impose significant influence on policies. Of course, you have issues such as mass media control and corruption, but the public can always vote the party out; in the grander scheme of things, two presidential terms are short. Compared with other democratic systems on Earth, it is clear that representative democracy is the only system under which a country can be effectively governed by a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. The Athenian democracy for the 60,000 adult male voters at that time may have worked. For the modern day UK and the USA, with the world being a more complicated place, more interests and stakeholders involved, a direct democracy would be unthinkable and disastrous even for 60,000 Americans.

Like many academics, the author cite indigenous cultures as proof that there can be a better way, of agriculture (Australia), of governance, and of way of living. Unfortunately, like the problem of democracy above, none of these seemingly sustainable things would work with the current population. Unless, we purport to eliminate the majority of the world and return to the ages where we live in simple and humble tribes of 50 and get to hunt and live a nomadic lifestyle, a reminiscence of this 'sustainable' lifestyle is impractical.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book might lead some to believe that it is some kind of bloated listicle destined to squat on a table in Waterstones and prey on readers expecting in-depth discussion of our shared culture and its history. However, this book surpasses all expectations for modern non-fiction and contains a wealth of historical discussion, plumbing the depths of Western depravity.

As a relatively engaged amateur student of history I thought I would be familiar with a lot of the famous events and figures used to underpin the primary thesis of the book, but each chapter wove in a series of historical characters from the inspiring to the abhorrent (including people who would view my parents even meeting as a failure of "civilisation"). The author uses a huge catalogue of historical and personal anecdotes to keep the reader engaged with the more awful parts of Western history and institutions. This book avoids being a depressing tour through the history of ignorance and discrimination, whilst holding the most important parts to the light and sharing the few bright spots.

This is a five star book displaying a combination of empathy, humour, and insight when tackling one of the most important but convoluted questions of the modern day, never harping on about a topic or glossing over details. Reading and loving Ngũgĩ's Wizard of the Crow has been a good start, but this book has made me realise how embedded Western hierarchies are in my bookshelves and how invisible these hierarchies can be.

[Dave Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly good
The title is misleading in so much as there are not ten lies enumerated, and this is 99% about England & the USA, not Europe as a whole but that's nit picking.
The tone is light and conversational for the subject matter. Most of these things are likely known to you but there are certain to be a few surprises.
(For instance: the author is the child of two British citizens but still had to apply for naturalization. in England her citizenship can be revoked at any time without warning or cause. I did not know that)
Mostly this book takes a concept like "Equal justice for all" or "We are a Meritocracy" and shows that's not the case (especially if you have brown skin).
This is not Anglo bashing (although it may feel that way in parts) the author repeatedly expresses her love of and idealization of all things English. Except for all the killing and looting.

[Sana · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book filled with such rich knowledge spanning fields of history, anthropology, archaeology, politics, psychology, art, race and philosophy in a grand culmination of what it means to be a civilisation and the veiled violence of the term “civilised”. Told with such tact and unexpected humour- a must read.

[inej · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely interesting and accessible. Every chapter triggered an unexpected amount of self reflection.

"When the Western world-view frames what you can read and, by extension, what you can know and understand, it can be used to control you."

[Caleb Talbot]

Honestly just boring as shit. Just because it is fiction doesn’t mean you can’t be engaging

[Kiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is superb! All the essays are very well argued and concentrate on legal and scientific frameworks the western society has developed specifically to justify their own constructed superiority as a tool or colonisation of oppression. The author is a historian and museum curator and her arguments are specifically concentrated on systems and frameworks (I imagine somehow mirroring how she contextualises things in her field of expertise), not on anecdotal examples.
At the same this book is compulsively readable and at times genuinely funny. This book is extremely accessible, yet very scientific and systematic in the way it links the perception of civilisation in the past and today.

[Arifa Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling read, offering a profound critique of the restrictive, biased, and often racist trappings of “civilization”. It challenges our preconceived notions of what it means to be "civilized" and the human cost associated with this concept. The book delves into our repeated failures in democracy, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. If equality is the ultimate goal of civilization, why do our “civilised” western societies continue to fall short, perpetuating deeply ingrained inequalities? It prompts us to reflect on the true cost of progress and whether humanity can be objectively measured in quantifiable terms. This book has left me re-evaluating many of my assumptions.

[Egle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is definitely aimed at a more "general" audience. The tone is very much conversational to the point of informal. I already knew a lot of the stuff covered, though there was some new interesting stuff. The chapters felt a little uneven in terms of the coherence of the arguments, and could have done with a bit more structure. Overall, quite an enjoyable read, but I was definitely not the target audience for it.

[Cordelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This took me a while to get into however, I’m glad I stuck with it. It debunks many ideas we have about western and non-western cultures which have been created by the middle and upper class white men of our past.

I particularly enjoyed chapter 9, and the discussion about cultural differences in our approach to death and grief.

[SK · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about how there are these 10 ideas, which are actually just lies that played a significant role in shaping the Western society as we know it. Most westerners certainly give a lot of value to these ideas. These are things like science, education, writing, justice, and democracy. But as Das illustrates, the history of these ideas comes with ugly truths that challenge the narrative that they have been an unambiguous force of good.

Overall, Das has a way of weaving disparate stories into an engaging narrative, and the game of let’s-debunk-the-10 ideas-that-are-endeared-by-the-West works so well as a writing project that I’m jealous that she came up with it first. I think it’s a good book, but I hated it enough to give it only 3 stars.

My central gripe is this: these 10 ideas may come with all those terrible things, but are we going to pretend like what we enjoy today—with all its improved standard of living, rights guaranteed through democratic processes, and continuing decrease of extreme poverty across the world—have nothing to do with our effort in protecting, improving, and promulgating these ideas?

I’m sure in repeating history lessons we can be reminded of how we got here and how messy the trajectory has been. That might be good in and of itself, but by 2024/2025, I would have hoped that it would be be paired with a discussion about what we can do going forward now that we know of all this. I think this is the conversation that is really worth having these days, but that's not what this book attempts to do.

Maybe at one point Das might have tried this conversation on page 46:

“One of the easiest changes to make is acknowledging how the white curriculum is constructed, along with historical and political contexts, that shape who we deem to be knowledgeable, educated and civilised.”

The statement might be true and insightful, but only trivially so, as Das never demonstrates what this acknowledgement exactly looks like. This omission is critical, considering that mere acknowledgement is often indistinguishable from pointless virtue signaling. I think we can all agree that we don’t want to virtue-signal; we want to be able to convey a deep understanding of Western values and their dark history. But how we can go about doing that is in this book. This omission is especially frustrating to me because on the same page of the book, Das professes her early fascination with etymology:

“I was brought up bilingual, and have always been interested in the origins and exact meanings of words. What exactly does this mean? Where exactly do our ideas come from? How exactly is knowledge constructed?”

Evidently, she doesn’t ask the same question for the word, “acknowledgement.”

In some parts of the book, Das sounds like an abusive partner arguing with you. In page 65, Das acknowledges the accomplishments of researchers in deciphering the khipu but at the same time emphasizes that it took too long for them to do so:

“While it’s wonderful that researchers are making great leaps in deciphering the khipu, this doesn’t account for how we lost sight of them in the first place. There have been generations of scholars, from historians to anthropologists to museum curators who have looked upon the khipu without thinking that there was anything within them to be discovered. It seems that when you make civilization in your own image, your ability to see things of interest and value in other cultures is severely compromised.”

When science and archaeology discover something that goes against everything that you have ever known about—khipu indeed is an amazing discovery—you can still criticize the field by saying that it’s too late anyway. We’ve all experienced this. You have done something nice for your partner, but your partner is still upset because you took too long. It's of course futile to explain that there is a good reason for the delay, like how these researchers needed to transform their worldview completely to truly understand and study the khipu, because your partner thinks he or she is not even asking for that much. "I'm just asking for a bare minimum here."

There are many other parts in the book that I’ve noted down and engaged with, but sharing them here would make this review obviously too long. In any case, I just believe that we can accept this history of how the West got here in the way Das tells it, but at the same time, we ought to be doubling down on these values, instead of repeating history lessons that provide no suggestions for a way forward. Das may not be arguing that these values are inherently racist and colonialist. The fair reading of history would allow for a view that these values were weaponized by people that had racist and colonialist beliefs. This can be demonstrated by the fact that most of the West stopped believing in eugenics and segregation by skin colour not because we somehow ditched science and education but because we got better at them.

I find 2025 is a great time to talk about how we can get better at doing the 10 values that made the West, particularly because the biggest and most powerful democracy that we have ever seen is under a leadership that is comically anti-science, anti-education, and anti-democratic. While we need voices that can strongly champion these values, this book is certainly not one of them. Ultimately, the book still deserves 3 stars because I don’t think it’s fair to criticize a book harshly for what it’s not trying to be, but I cannot overstate how trivial and old it felt to me in 2025.

[Rtrv2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I doubt that I am the target audience for this book, because the author is at pains to point out how much she dislikes white (with a lower case w) people as opposed to Black and Brown (with an upper case B) people. However, I did learn some really interesting historical facts. For example, Haiti was the first country to ban slavery, and Jeremy Bentham's preserved corpse is on display in London!

Some of the chapters are better than others. For example, I liked the chapter on death. But Das generally doesn't succeed in showing that Enlightenment ideals are bad. She just gives examples of the many, many occasions when people have failed to live up to them. Which is fair enough, but it would be nice if she presented credible alternatives to things like science or democracy, instead of just saying that they are bad. It would also have been great if she had discussed economics more, instead of just making some vague statements about capitalism.

Overall, I think the book deserves three stars. I give it two because the author fails to recognise that she is part of the problem. She comes from a rich and privileged background and is fully invested in the modern day Guardian-reader version of scientific racism, which is just as bad as the eugenics of Galton et al, and is going to have consequences which are just as toxic. Just a couple of days ago, somebody rammed their car into a Christmas market, no doubt having worked themself up into a tizzy about the evils of Western civilisation.

But how dare I have an opinion, right? I don't count. If I want to complain, I should be protesting about *real* acts of violence. Like art galleries and museums and children.

[Vijay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy enough book to digest. Yes, the book is about the White people's whitewash of history and the so-called Western civilisation.

Despite evidence to the contrary, historians and psychologists alike, will not credit "savages" for their remarkable history, artistry and anthropology.

Stuff they were doing like bronze sculptures and keeping the peace amongst themselves to not keeping strict boundaries, etc. Compared to Western thought- must keep working to your wits end in the belief that you need to keep up with your neighbours who you cannot visit because they are fenced up to creating wars amongst nations.

[Peter Ryder · Rating 1 out of 5]

A disappointing and rather tiresome read. I don't recognise the ideas the author selects as the founding ideas of Western civilisation.

Most of them are merely phrases that have gained a degree of commonality and are certainly not restricted in their use to the 'West'. One of them is the title of a pop song.

The reason the author has chosen those ten items is soon obvious. They are a vehicle which delivers the ideas of CRT. It goes downhill from the statement that Wester civilisation is white civilisation.

[Sebastian Proos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worthwhile read, raises some pressing questions on what it means to be "civilised", including some heartfelt personal anecdotes from the author. The writing has an antagonising, humorous and provocative tone whilst never being too acerbic or preachy. Especially topical in 2025, now that the total moral bankruptcy of what we call "The West" has become apparent to everyone with a smartphone and a functioning brain.

[Mirko Kriskovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Closest experience to my taste of Habanero chilies. The way she takes down preconceived ideas is just as brutal as that first burn of habaneros.
As anyone who’s into chilli knows, you are going to take a second bite.
Well worth the time and the pain; new ideas as well as very good writing makes this a must for people who doesn’t mind having some of their values challenged.

[Tiyani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was great, to be honest. Got it as a gift, and I was pleasantly surprised. Huge part history, small part memoir and philosophy essays, this book paints many thoughtful pictures for the mind to snack on. But perhaps the most revealing and beautiful picture of all, this book's prime accomplishment, is the picture of those forgetten and buried by Western hegemony.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uncivilised is really quite a brilliant book about Western arrogance and self-determined cultural and intellectual superiority, all told in a chatty, though informative, way. The author does a really nice job of pulling back the history and showing us the hows and the whys of Western dominance in all areas of life--and the realities behind them. Fascinating, and well-written.

[Erinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book, I learnt so much and it did challenge me to thinkmore critically about my own views. The ONLY reason it's a 4.5 for me is because in the chapter about art, there's a view I don't agree with.

[Isabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot thanks to this book but I felt like it took too much on… some topics were incredibly interesting but they were superfluous. Conclusions seemed rushed sometimes. I would love to read more about the authors experience as a curator such as in the epilogue.

[Negisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true mind opening book! It’s full of astonishing history lessons and references, perfectly fitting into the story line and the main points. Highly recommended for anyone seeking a truthful and evidence-based history of ‘western civilization’.

[Brian Mackenwells · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book; witty, deeply informed, and humane.

[Taj Martin-Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depressing yet amazing

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not a bad book, it's just there. Didn't offer any new interesting insight. It would either have profited from being longer or from just being a couple of articles.

[Martin Greaves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing book. Powerful, revelatory, inspiring, anger inducing. This book should be on the curriculum of every school in the West.

[Alfredo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, informative, and critically important

[Larrykins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a much needed book for the current times.

[Floriane · Rating 3 out of 5]

full disclosure, I scanned-read a couple of chapters. some were very interesting, other less to my liking or relating elements that I already knew quite well. the overall message is an important one

[Michael Daymond-King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well with a read to align ones suspicions with the harsh reality of what the western structure of civilisation does to societies.