the British, French, Dutch and Spanish Empires had
been built up by the conquest and occupation of foreign lands. If the
nineteenth century was an epoch of expanding imperial authority, the
twentieth century has been an epoch of the dismemberment of empires by
movements for independence and self-determination.
Seventh, and finally, among the collective goals of civilization, each
has developed an ideology that justified empire building by conquest,
exploitation, chattel slavery, peonage, wagery, the supremacy of the
empire nucleus, the subordination of the periphery to the nucleus and
other aspects of ascendancy and mastery including "divine" rights in
politics and "natural" rights in economics.
Civilizations expect the individuals and groups of which they are
composed to preserve the status quo, work as disciplined members of an
effective team and be satisfied with the outcome. This brings us back to
the goal with which we began this discussion of the collective goals of
civilizations: The primary task of any civilization is to survive.
Each individual human being, living and working in a civilized community
occupies a sphere of action, enjoys the advantages and disadvantages and
accepts the responsibilities and duties which pertain to his sphere.
Within his sphere the individual succeeds or fails in so far as he leads
a rewarding personal life and contributes his share toward the
collective life of the group to which she or he belongs.
If the individual in a civilized community is to live a good life, the
first task is to maintain normal health, good spirits and a
determination to get the most out of life and to contribute at least the
equivalent of what he receives in service to his group.
As a civilization expands and extends its influence, the individual must
contribute his mite to the entire enterprise while adding to his own
store of goods and services. Acquisition and accumulation satisfy a
human desire to have and to keep. They also add to the wealth and well
being of the community on the widely accepted utilitarian formula:
happiness comes in direct proportion to the extent and variety of ones
possessions.
In most civilized communities the building unit is a family. It is this
family unit, usually directed by a male or father figure, who acts for
the family and represents it in the community.
In passing, the reader should note that the breakdown in family life now
so prevalent in many parts of w
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