Why do we in "The West" refer to ourselves as "The West"???

Ok, probably a baffling question, if not title. When it comes down to many topics, the nations of Europe and North America are commonly all refered to as a whole, being called “The West”. This is often when comparing technologies with other nations such as more often than not China and/or Russia. For example, when studying PAK-FA or the Chinese J-XX many people will often say ‘the technology employed on this aircraft is behind “the west”‘ or “western nations.”
Now, considering nations who have not got the means to produce aircraft such as PAK-FA, such as Ireland, Portugal, Austria and Belgium are considered part of “the west” is this not…erm….”inaccurate”? Since the statement ‘the technology employed on this aircraft is behind “the west”‘ or “western nations.” would automatically include the above mentioned nations would it not?
So why do we refer to ourselves as a whole??? I really do hope this question is not as confusing as I think it might be : )