Counterfactuals triggered by small random pivots are every historian's hidden secret pleasure.

I like debate. Remember, get 2 Jews in a room and you have 3 opinions.

Your bite the West that feeds you writing is a useful foil. We know the western conquest modernity outcome we got. Now imagine we didn't. What do we get? Since I'm old enough to be your daddy and view human history as a contest between bad vs worse, I tend to think the alternative would have been worse (Aztecs over Spaniards anyone?). Be careful of what you wish for.