Disagree with Niall Ferguson's 6 "killer apps" theory

Niall Ferguson, an Internationally prominent scholar, attributes the Western dominance to 6 "killer apps" - competition, science, property rights, medicine, the consumer society, the work ethic - that are largely missing in other parts of the world.  This is a fascinating theory.  However, I think it is slightly wrong.

Firstly, it is factually wrong that all the "killer apps" are missing in other parts of the world.  Using China as an example, lack of work ethics has not been a problem. China did not have the concept of weekend until the 20th century. It was a workday every day, the day usually started at the dawn for the majority of the population - peasants - for centuries. China was the world's sole superpower for about 1500 years before its falling behind. China was largely a consumer society, not an investment society, not a military society, most of the time.  Secondly, the advancement of medicine is a natural result of scientific progress.  It should not be a separate "killer app".  China had medicine and many legendary doctors for thousands of years, but its traditional medicine is not based on modern science.

I think there are three "killer apps": competition, science and property rights.  The "killer app" theory has merits, but misses a fundamental point - freedom of speech - which is the foundation for many apps.  Without the freedom of speech, there would be no fair competitions, no secure property, no flourishing ideas in science, technology, arts, business.  This is exact what China missed most of the time for many centuries.  China also experienced a period of rapid innovation, flourish of ideas, emergence of many great thinkers - Sun Tzu, Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, Mozi, etc.  That is the Warring States Period (475 BC - 221 BC) when competition was fierce, and freedom of speech existed.

The freedom of speech is the killer platform that propelled the West to its current dominance.