3. What are the basic tenets of the Modern West?

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The basic tenets are possessive individualism, scientific unity, and free market philosophy. C. B. Macpherson wrote a novel describing most of these tenets. One that is described in detail is possessive individualism. This is defined as many things, but here is a list of what Macpherson thought was most important:

1.What makes a man human is freedom from dependence on the wills of others.

2.Freedom from dependence on others means freedom from any relations with others except those relations which the individual enters voluntarily with a view to his own interest.

3.The individual is essentially the proprietor of his own person and capacities, for which he owes nothing to society.

4.Although the individual cannot alienate the whole of his property in his own person, he may alienate his capacity to labour.

5.Human society consists of a series of market relations.

6.Since freedom from the wills of others is what makes a man human, each individual's freedom can rightfully be limited only by such obligations and rules as are necessary to secure the same freedoms for others.

7.Political society is a human contrivance for the protection of the individual's property in his person and goods, and (therefore) for the maintenance of orderly relations of exchange between individuals regarded as proprietors of themselves. (263-4)

Scientific unity is different cultures combining their knowledge into a huge universal body of knowledge.

Free market philosophy is the idea of exchanging one good for another. For example, we exchange money for food at the grocery store.

Sources: Article on scientific unity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1479546/

Article on possessive individualism: http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2011/08/possessive-individualism.html

History Manual pg.92

Article on free market philosophy: http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/FreeMarket.html