CIVILIZATION: THE ESSENCE OF AN EVALUATIVE DESCRIPTIVE CONCEPT

Abstract

The power of ideas and language is not to be underestimated-ideas do matter, both "good" and "bad" ideas. John Maynard Keynes was right when he proclaimed that the "ideas of economists and political philosophers. both when they are right and when they are wrong. are more powerful than is commonly understood." Whether it is ideas associated with Marxism-Leninism, responsible for the deaths of untold millions in revolutions gone awry. or expansionist liberalism in the guise of colonialism, the consequences of ideas and the language that accompanies them reverberate well beyond the realm of abstract theory or the ivory tower-they can have a very real impact on actions and outcomes. Civilization is a powerful idea and ideal; as is the language of civilization. This paper explores how the ideal of civilization, the norm of civilization, along with antithetical terms such as barbarism and savagery. have been used and manipulated to explain. rationalize. and justify decisions and actions that shape the course of history. Civilization is a concept that Quentin Skinner would describe as an "evaluative-descriptivet"e rm. That is, it is a concept that performs both evaluative and descriptive functions in our daily language. The nature of such concepts is that they can be used to either commend or condemn the actions or peoples they are used to describe.Throughout its history the word civilization has proven to be a term of considerable power that is used both to commend and condemn, often with serious consequences.

The power of ideas and language is not to be underestimated-ideas do matter, both "good" and "bad" ideas. John Maynard Keynes was right when he proclaimed that the "ideas of economists and political philosophers. both when they are right and when they are wrong. are more powerful than is commonly understood." Whether it is ideas associated with Marxism-Leninism, responsible for the deaths of untold millions in revolutions gone awry. or expansionist liberalism in the guise of colonialism, the consequences of ideas and the language that accompanies them reverberate well beyond the realm of abstract theory or the ivory tower-they can have a very real impact on actions and outcomes. Civilization is a powerful idea and ideal; as is the language of civilization. This paper explores how the ideal of civilization, the norm of civilization, along with antithetical terms such as barbarism and savagery. have been used and manipulated to explain. rationalize. and justify decisions and actions that shape the course of history. Civilization is a concept that Quentin Skinner would describe as an "evaluative-descriptivet"e rm. That is, it is a concept that performs both evaluative and descriptive functions in our daily language. The nature of such concepts is that they can be used to either commend or condemn the actions or peoples they are used to describe.Throughout its history the word civilization has proven to be a term of considerable power that is used both to commend and condemn, often with serious consequences.