The definition of civilization appeared quite a long time ago, in the era of antiquity. At that time, it was used to distinguish normal people from barbarians. It means the level of development of a particular society, country or small settlement. The key moment in the development of civilization was the law. It could not be violated by any member of society, regardless of its well-being, the number of servants and other parameters that determine a person in abundance or lack thereof. That is, in a sense, with the help of this concept, people became equal to each other, they were equally responsible for one or another offense.
Virtues are the founders of the first legislation. The main step towards a civilized society
Since the definition of civilization appeared, as mentioned above, the separation of people into different types has begun. The former, barbarians, were subordinate exclusively to their leader. It could be a king, leader or an ordinary person with leadership qualities. For them, there was no honor, no rules. Everything that they did could be punished only by the leader. In fact, they had complete freedom, which, of course, led to anarchy. The second, civilized people, did not obey the kings, but the law. The first such representatives were the Greeks. They possessed a set of qualities that could be attributed to virtues. That is, they had dignity, patriotism and justice.
Civilization Categories
It should be noted that civilization is a definition, the concepts of which are usually divided into several separate categories:
- The culture. It is a system that deals with the distribution and storage of material and spiritual values. It can be languages, writing, traditions, jewelry, elements of national life and the like.
- Ideology. The general definition of civilization, in principle, does not include this category, since it is oriented towards a specific society. That is, in a particular country you can observe your mentality, religion or thinking. This will be an ideology.
- Politics. In any civilized society, there must be people who will ensure that laws are strictly enforced. They are responsible for ensuring that those responsible for troubles and violators of the rules are punished. These people are politicians, and without them, the existence of civilization can become simply impossible.
- Economy. It is also an integral part, without which the definition of civilization is not possible. In order to develop their culture and ideology, financial resources are required. And the art of economic management completely helps in this.
Local civilization
It is worth adding that the concept of local civilization is slightly different from the generalized meaning of this word. It focuses only on one society, country or settlement. Even in one state there can be several cities that will have different categories of civilization. Some, for example, consider it important to build factories and engage in industry, while others will invest in agriculture.
No one has yet been able to determine exactly who is most involved in the formation of a civilized society. Some argue that creative minorities do this. The bulk of the inhabitants only follow them. If you change the creator, then the civilized system will also change. Others suggest that each individual individually builds civilization. At least, if many people adhere to the second opinion, then all the categories listed above will move more rapidly towards the ideal.