Civilization: We should try it!
Since humankind began building and living in cities, we have claimed as our own the term 'civilized.' It describes the next stage of humanity, following from 'savage' to 'barbaric' to 'civic.' It follows from 'family' to 'clan' to 'tribe' and implies something beyond the stacking of bricks, the building of close housing and monumental edifices to community uses. But all those earlier social stages of development were added to, not replaced by 'civilization.' Most of us, whether we live in cities... Sign in to see full entry.