Saving civilization from itself

This chapter explores the nature of civilization and the less-than-straightforward relationship between civilization and some of the perceived threats to it. It outlines the generally accepted socio political nature of civilization and its relationship to the idea of progress and human perfectibility, and examines the nature of the relationship between civilization and war, an assumed ever-persistent threat to civilization. The chapter considers the relationship between civilization and the environment, including the ironies of the threat posed to civilization by anthropomorphic climate change. A significant aspect of civilization revolves around evolving or developing, whether it is from a state of nature, savagery, or barbarism toward urbanized, scientific, technological civilization. The relationship between civilization and nature is not so different from the dialectical relationship between civilization and war: the higher the level of civilization, the greater the exploitation of nature; the greater the exploitation of nature, the more civilization progresses