In Defence Of Civilization

Why we must resist the calls for voluntary civilizational euthanasia

I presented this paper to those assembled at the Living Freedom Summer School in London on 12 July 2014. It serves as an introduction to the research programme that I am engaged in during the next 18 months.

Civilisation is an important concept that alludes to the legacy and achievements of humanity’s journey through the age. So why is it that in our era, the term civilization has acquired such negative connotations?

And why is it that, Western Civilization is so frequently framed as a toxic and destructive force?

The term civilization – which emerged in the 18^th century – has acquired numerous meanings. In its neutral form it refers to an advanced stage of human society, which contains developed forms of institutions, culture and social norms. However, since the outbreak of the Culture Wars, the term ‘advanced’ has acquired negative connotations. The concept of an advanced society like that of civilization is not simply a term of description. It also conveys a judgment and conveys the implication that other societies are less advanced and in comparison, even backward.

In our relativistic culture there is no room for words that connotes a judgment that favours one social form over another. That is why numerous commentators insist that it is illegitimate to favourably contrast Greek or Roman civilizations to non-literate hunting and gathering societies living in a state of constant insecurity.

In his excellent exploration of the genealogy of the term civilization, the historian Lucien Febvre concluded that this word relates to two different concepts. It captures all the features of collective life, the ‘material, intellectual, moral, political’. He calls this the ‘ethnographical conception of civilization’. This conception of civilization is a statement of fact and  ‘does not imply and value judgment’.[i] However, the term civilization can also be used in a comparative sense, when as Febvre noted, ‘we are talking about the progress, failures, greatness and weakness of civilization’. In this instance, ‘we do have a value judgment in mind’.

Even when the term is not explicitly used to judge between the qualities of different societies it always possesses normative connotations. When the word civilization came into usage in the 18^th century it was used to describe a virtuous lifestyle; one that served as a moderating influence on the brutish and violent behaviour of previous times. It highlighted the internalisation of the kind of restraint that distinguished desirable human qualities from irrational, coarse and uncultivated behaviour.

In the 18^th century, as the Swiss literary critic, Jean Starobinski noted, civilization referred to such notions as ‘improvements in comfort, advances in education, politer manners, cultivation of the arts and sciences, growth of · commerce and industry, and acquisition of material goods and luxuries. The word pointed to the process that made individuals, nations, and all mankind civilized’[ii].

According to Daniel J. Mahoney, in Recovering Politics, Civilization, and Soul, civilization is a ‘state of human flourishing where ordered liberty is tied to law and self-limitation, and where progress in the arts and sciences, and in economic productivity more broadly, is accompanied by a sober appreciation of human imperfection and the fragility of all human achievements’. It is evidently a desirable state for the cultivation of positive human qualities.

It is evident that from the outset the concept of civilization possessed a normative dimension. The very term civilized behaviour hinted at forms of human conduct that were lacking in this form of behaviour. As the term civilized began to be used as a form of self-definition, a ‘we’ concept to describe a nation or a culture it invariably highlighted the distinction between desirable and cultivated characteristics and those that existed on a ‘semi-civilized’ or even non-civilized plane. As one anthropologist observed, ‘like "culture," the very word "civilization" could arouse strong emotions, attached to feelings of social solidarity and superiority and, as an inevitable consequence, resentment and hostility’[iii].

No doubt, the notion of civilization could be turned into an ideological concept that justified notions of cultural or racial superiority. However, the ideological weaponisation of this concept is not inherent in the concept of civilization. It is worth remembering that appeals to civilization were made by campaigners against slavery and antisemitism in the 19^th century. During the First World War the Allies referred to their campaign as ‘The Great War for Civilization’.

However, no matter the context of its usage, the term civilization is treated with suspicion and contempt by the voices that represent the present-day cultural zeitgeist. The main reason for the negative framing of civilization is because Western Society has come under the spell of non-judgmentalism. The cultural elites of the West find it difficult to regard their civilisational legacy as possessing unique qualities that contrast favourably with those of other societies. In the same way they cannot bring themselves to represent forms of behaviour, such as those of Hamas as barbaric and uncivilized.

The act of judgement has acquired negative connotations as has the making of traditional moral distinctions. Society’s estrangements from judgment has led to a situation where non-judgmentalism plays the role of a foundational value in the socialization of children. Take the National Geographic educational tool used to influence children in grades 5-8. It explains;

‘Scholars often differ over how to define “civilization” and how to categorize societies based on that definition – or whether to categorize them at all. Most historians, anthropologists, and archaeologists working today feel that the word is problematic because of the way the label has been used to set up harmful oppositions among world societies, with “civilized” societies being seen as superior to “non-civilized” societies’[iv].

From the perspective of the National Geographic civilization is ‘problematic’ because it implies the ‘categorization’ of societies. It regards judgment as harmful or at least potentially harmful. In its non-judgmental universe the use of the term ‘superior’ is regarded as a cultural crime.

Hostility towards the term civilization has acquired pathological proportions when its western form is in the frame. Western Civilization is frequently described as a vehicle for racism and white supremacy. There is a veritable publishing industry devoted to representing the historical legacy of Western Civilization in the worst possible light. From the Ancient Greeks to today, episodes in Western Civilization are represented as shameful events. Paradoxically, the ethos of non-judgmentalism does not apply to Western Civilization. It is constantly demonised as morally inferior to all other cultures and is unfavourably contrasted with pre-modern societies throughout the ages. From this standpoint civilization needs to be decolonized or better still, subjected to the procedure of cultural euthanasia.

Hostility towards civilization and its accomplishment is underpinned by the powerful anti-humanist turn of western culture. Suspicion towards human agency has tended to represent the historical achievement of humanity in a negative light. Human societies are frequently cast in the role of parasites living off nature while destroying the environment. Civilization is frequently held responsible for the creation of an environmental crisis. Overpopulation, pollution, deforestation, environmental degradation are often blamed on human civilization. The negative connotation of the term ‘human impact’ highlights the moral devaluation of the historical role of human society. A loss of belief in humanity’s potential to do good runs in parallel for society’s indifference to the fate of our hard fought for civilizational values.

Finally, it is necessary to point out that society’s estrangement from its civilizational accomplishment is ultimately the responsibility of the behaviour of its elites. The cultural and political elites of the western world do not take seriously their civilizational legacy. Worse still, in its institutions of culture it constantly transmits the claim that the history of Western Civilization is a story of shame. Their call for civilizational suicide must be resisted and discredited. We must resist the pressure to decivilize and to turn our back on the achievements of our ancestors

To uphold and defend the legacy of Western Civilization is not to idealise its representatives and the behaviour of those it influenced over the centuries. The history of Western civilization contains inspiring stories of noble deed as well as destructive and appalling acts that led to the terrible suffering of millions of people. Its unique record of scientific and philosophical achievements often ran in parallel with irrational and superstitious behaviour. This was a civilization that developed and practiced the humanist ideal of tolerance but was at the same time capable of grotesque acts of intolerance that dehumanised its targets. However, this is a civilization that possesses the unique quality of correcting its mistakes,

Let’s not forget that for all its imperfections human civilization is a story of courage, ingenuity, intellect and adventure.

Our civilization is the historical legacy of the pursuit of values that humanised humanity. We have no choice but to defend this legacy and ensure that it is preserved and transmitted to the generations that are not yet born.

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[i] Lucien Febvre (1930) ‘History and civilization: “Civilisation: Evolution of a Word and a Group of Ideas”’, Rundell, J. & Mennell, S. (1998) (eds). Routledge : London.

 p.161.

[ii] Starobinski, J., 1993. Blessings in disguise, or, The morality of evil. Harvard University Press, p.3.

[iii] The Genealogy of Civilization Author(s): Robert A. Paul Source: American Anthropologist , Jun., 1998, Vol. 100, No. 2 (Jun., 1998), p. 387.

[iv] https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/civilizations/