Civilization has proved to be not an opportunity for the
ambitious, but a trap for the ignorant, inexperienced and unwary. For
the many contestants who set out to conquer the world the experience
has been disappointing and on the whole disastrous. For the few who have
reached the summit the experience has been frustrating.
Civilization as a way of life is like any other contest. The struggle is
good for those who are able to benefit from it by learning its lessons.
Whether they win or lose is a matter of no great consequence. For the
losers the experience often is heart breaking and death-dealing.
Students of social history have been tempted to draw a parallel between
the biological life cycle of an individual and the sociological
lifecycle of a civilization. There are elements of likeness between
biological birth, growth, maturity, old age and death of human
individuals and of human civilizations. All of the individuals and
civilizations that we know have passed or are passing through such a
lifecycle. The same thing may be true of the larger universe of which we
are a minute fragment. However exact or inexact it may prove to be, the
parallel certainly is unmistakable, alluring. It may also be seductive
and mortal.
CHAPTER NINE
IDEOLOGIES OF CIVILIZATION
This study was laid out along inductive lines: an examination of the
facts with such generalizations as the facts suggest or justify.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187