CHALLENGES TO WORLD CIVILIZATION

Brig.Gen.Muhammad Salzer Rahman(Retd)

World civilization had, from time to time, faced existential challenges in different
periods of history. Natural calamity, famine and disease, warfare decimating cities,
forced migration, etc. brought end to many civilizations. Human race suffered
untold miseries in these catastrophic situations. In some cases civilization was
doomed. In others, it somehow escaped total annihilation.

Resilience and in-born instinct provided human race opportunity to start all over
again. And the cycle continues. In most cases agriculture, trade and commerce,
religious propagation , an innate desire to go beyond known world, facilitated the
much needed communication with another race ;to another land. Cultures were
born. The foundation of each culture, obviously, was knowledge; no matter how
rudimentary it might have been.

Civilsation manifested itself in many facets. Religion, faith, economics, ideals,

war, ethnicity, culture are the dominant characteristics of civilization.

For the longest and most part of human existence agrarian society was the bed-rock
of civilization. Many civilizations bloomed and progressed. One civilization even
coexisted with other civilizations. But often they had attempted to overpower one
another, racing through continents. In doing so they exhibited their social and
economic superiority and prowess. Religion and faith also played as the tools for
the game changer. Ultimately the dominant civilization not only prevailed, but had
its way to change everything in its way. A new way of life was adopted and society
moved in a new direction.

The twentieth century witnessed the rise of industrial society. In a hundred year
period of time man established a society so advanced that each invention radically
provided unprecedented speed to the progress of human civilization. What took
many thousand years to accomplish was out of date in just a few decades. At the
same time,the new form of culture, comfort, knowledge, discovery, etc. apparently
made the world smaller.

And further, the communication made it possible to reach the benefits of these
newest civilization to every door step. Unfortunately, however, side by side, new
battle lines of conflict had also surfaced in different parts of the globe. Nature of
the new conflict took the form of trade war, conflict for acquisition of raw material,
fight for mineral wealth ,colonization in recent history and actual warfare.

A huge number of humanity were colonized across Asia and Africa because their
civilization proved ineffective in keeping western aggressive civilization at bay.
The economy, way of life, administration, social and political belief, and the entire
social fabric of Africa and Asia were shattered and torn asunder. The faith practiced
in some of the countries in Asia and in many parts of Africa suffered reversal .
The dawn of western civilization became one of the darkest hours in human history
for rest of the world. These countries although became sovereign states at various
stages, they continue to bear the grievous injuries on their body politic. The
underlying conflict between the western and the eastern civilizations continue to
simmer as of today. Very interestingly, civilizations of the east now staggering to
stand up once again have started to assert its existence through a painful process of
regeneration. This resilience is remarkable in modern history and history of
civilization.

Faith, however, is at the very root of human being. It is so much instinctive and
impulsive that human beings had always been internally driven to seek the
authority running the universe. It is true that when in despair, man surrenders to
supernatural power or, seeks his blessings. But it is universally found that
irrespective of social, cultural, economic and religious settings, man will tend to
devote himself to search for a creator.

A group of Chinese men and women were asked what were they doing, standing in
silence, clasping their hands, facing the high mountain in front of them. They
replied they feel good to do so. They said they feel something inexplicable inner
impulse. In other civilizations, men go to churches, mosques and temples for
prayer. Faith and religion greatly shaped civilization and journey of human race
right from the outset.

Some writers believe religion is an obstacle to civilization. Bertrand Russel in his

Why I am not a Christian , wrote I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a
source of untold misery to the human race. Also that The knowledge exists by
which universal happiness can be secured; the chief obstacle to its utilization for
that purpose is the teaching of religion. Religion prevents our children from having
a rational education; religion prevents us from removing the fundamental causes of
war; religion prevents us from teaching the ethic of scientific co-operation in place
of the old fierce doctrines of sin and punishment.

On the other hand historian Arnold J.Toyenbee in his A Study of History viewed
that civilizations unfold and proliferate under an existing society and situations. It
provides new direction to the society. According to Toynbee, most civilizations
declined and fell because of moral or religious decline. Historical dialectic brings
in new spiritual insights allowing birth of a new religion and ultimately a new
civilization.

Civilization has the characteristics of spreading. The impact of culture on the

expansion of civilization is tremendous. Culture and religion are closely related, in
that religion is an aspect of culture. Thus one could find Muslim culture of the
Ottoman empire inextricably mixed with culture of the east European culture and
its folklore. This has happened because culture bears the characteristics to spread
with the people .

Culture in most societies is considered a way of life. It is deeply embedded in the

psyche of human beings. It relates to what religion he follows, his social belief and
practices, his values and behavior, his knowledge and attitude Many
anthropologists believe that culture progresses through an evolutionary process;
from simpler to superior or, refined culture. But they also view that advanced
cultures are not by nature superior or, more sophisticated than less advanced
cultural groups and societies. Although, some cultures are better endowed for
creativity and adaptation.

Western countries think and believe western civilization is superior. So the trouble
starts here. They are ready to resort to all types of actions to defend their culture,
including waging war. President George W. Bush declared he will launch crusade
to save their civilization and their way of life. Afghanistan and Iraq were occupied
and destroyed. In the process Libya has also been destroyed; Syria facing total
destruction. Culture got mingled with faith and religion adding fuel to the fire. The
simmering antagonism between Christian and Islamic faith which remained
dormant for centuries and throughout the cold war era, has resurfaced once again.
The cultural divide has brought the Western and Muslim civilization face to face.

Most of the Islamic states of the world today do maintain all types of relations with
the western countries. But because of the western invasion and occupation, the
relationship has been facing a strange equation. On top of that, the idea of war on
terror, which is essentially a western idea, has made these Muslim states
themselves the victims of terrorism. It is undermining their external and internal
security. It appears that the more they cooperate with the West in the fight against
terrorism, the more vulnerable their internal security becomes. Concept of war on
terror has rather become complex; getting more complex day by day.

Now a question might arise whether countries like Turkey and Saudi Arabia which
are on the opposite side of this cultural divide, are less vulnerable from Western
civilization. They are not. It is to be understood that Turkey and Saudi Arabias
support for rebel groups in Syria along the lines followed by the West and taking
of punitive action by Saudi Arabia against another Muslim country Yemen, need
different explanations.

The truth is that the surfacing of centuries old religious and cultural fault lines have
brought the two dominant civilizations of modern times dangerously close to grind
against each other. But this is not the only fear facing our civilization and planet.
Major fault lines have also appeared in the far east, in the horizon of Eastern world
and its culture, around the fringes of South China Sea and inside Europe
encompassing Russia and the Orthodox world.

Since culture moves with people, it also carries with it new ideas and way of life.
This happens because diffusion is another characteristics of culture. In the context
of a developing and deepening cultural conflict between civilizations , there are
flickering hopes that humankind will make a right choice and avert catastrophic
clashes. Thus it is still probable that western Christian culture might pass through a
process of fusion with Islamic and other cultures and a new dynamic civilization
could be born.

How does economics play its role in shaping civilization. For thousands of
centuries economy and civilization progressed at minimal and subsistence rate
primarily being an agrarian civilization. Nevertheless, this process of slow
transformation of society through a period of many centuries was fundamental in
understanding the growth of civilization . Civilization and society tried to be
protective of whatever wealth it produced. And to snatch the prosperity, predator
civilization embarked on invasion and plunder. Apart from agriculture, human
beings took to trading incense and spices. There were movement of peoples and
goods overland and by sea routes east to west, and vice versa across the globe.

Marxism believes , that the beginning of civilization was the beginning of

oppression. They claim that as agriculture developed and men were tended to
amass material wealth, it became concentrated in the hands of the powerful, and
the communal way of life among people gave way to aristocracy and social
hierarchy. On the capitalist front, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, fortified the
argument that a free-market economy increased the living standards of most people
at a markedly faster rate than an economy run by the state.

Marxism and capitalism were both born in the European continent. But these two
conflicting economic ideals spread to distant continents. Countries like USSR,
China, Cuba, Indo-china, North Korea and several countries in the Latin America
embraced Marxism. Some east European countries, and right in the heart of
Europe, East Germany, under the influence of USSR, became a practicing Marxist
economy. These two ideals divided the world into two distinct camps. Economic
divide soon led to political and military confrontation. The world, at times came
to the brink of nuclear war.

Despite the economic divide and the impending danger of war, there was
worldwide, immense development in commerce, communication and industry. The
role played by an economy in crystalising a culture is very important. In primitive
society people needed food, clothing and shelter as do people in our modern times.
The distinction between then and now lies in the process by which these wants are
met. Now it is function of the economy satisfying the demand through system of
production and marketing.

Economic practices, with their intricate system of conducting business and

management, have become one of the most effective forces for progress and
development in modern civilization. .Had this not been the case, modern
civilization would have faced stagnation and collapse.
Warfare is one of the most expressed characteristic of civilization. But there is no
room to believe that as the society continued to become more civilized , it was
possible to avoid warfare. In fact, with the growth and progression of Civilization,
the seeds of war were concomitantly germinating at around the same time in
roughly the same place.

Historian Arnold J.Toynbee was of the view that while war may actually have
been a child of civilization, but in the long run, war has proved to have been the
proximate cause of the breakdown of every civilization which is known for certain
to have broken down.

Civilization and war are again intimately and strangely related. At any given time
and space in history, a society had put all its resources and manpower to defeat a
competing society and civilization. New arms, art of warfare, new inventions
slowly but continually fuelled war-mongering civilization and triggered new
conflict. The chariot of war moved on annihilating one civilization and at the same
time giving rise to another. As the time rolled on, war became yet more
devastating, resulting in demise and birth of civilization in succession and in circle.
Thus war is so deeply interwoven with civilization that it is virtually impossible to
disentangle it from each other.

Civilisaton has a great stake in peace which remained really elusive during vast
stretches of human history. Idea and hope of a free and peaceful world after the end
of Second World war appeared a possibility. The Indochina war, wars in Africa and
conflict centering Palestine, seriously dashed that hope. The Palestine issue has
serious potentials to spiral out of control and engulf the whole world in a
devastating war. The occupation and destruction of Afghanistan and Iraq,
destruction of Libya and Syria have further receded the hope for peace.

Consequent upon and due to NATO offensive in the middle east and Afghanistan,
groups like ISIS have emerged in the middle east. They are thriving primarily in
this region which is itself under attack or, occupation by NATO, but paradoxically
these extremist groups are perpetrating death and destruction targeting these very
states and their population. The Muslim world as a whole is more of a victim of
these terror groups. Given this situation, world actors, for various reasons, do not
seem to be serious enough to seize the fleeting opportunity to restore real peace in
the world. Nevertheless, despite this scenario, the hope for a tolerant and peaceful
society across the world still pervades minds of a great majority of population in
all continents.
Ethnicity, as a feature of civilization, is basically related to culture and religious
faith. The source of ethnic conflict may be political, social, or economic. The
parties in conflict expressly fight for their ethnic group's position within society.
This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle.

In the thirteenth century, the Mongols and the Tatars occupied Russia .When the
power of the Muslim Tatars was diminished, in the sixteenth century, Ivan the
Terrible razed the Tatar capital. During the Second World War, Stalin deported
hundreds of thousands of Tatar families to Central Asia. Once the Soviet Union
fell, Tatars demanded greater rights and independence. Those demands drew fuel
from the memory of bloodshed on both sides. So it is evident that memories of
animosity between civilizations is carried on throughout its journey in history.

Perhaps the ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia is most vivid in modern history. The
Serbs not only drove the Bosnians out of their homes but brutally killed many
thousands of them. The indignity brought upon the Bosnian Muslims was of the
worst kind in the history of modern Europe.US was keen to bring a quick end to
the war; but mainly due to the desire of Britain and France to delay the
intervention ,the U.S. took belated action and the war was prolonged. Here is an
example where ethnic conflict assumed the character of a full-fledged civil war.

The most recent ethnic cleansing in Myanmar is forcing large numbers of the
Rohingyas to flee that country. The disproportionate use of force and brutality
perpetrated on the Rohingyas by Myanmar security forces has shocked the whole
world. Study shows that intolerance of the Budhist clerics has been providing fuel
to the conflict. Bertrand Russel in his essay Has Religion Made Useful
Contributions to Civilisation in the book Why I am not a Christian wrote The
Buddha was amiable and enlightened; on his deathbed he laughed at his disciples
for supposing that he was immortal. But the Buddhist priesthood - as it exists, for
example, in Tibet - has been obscurantist, tyrannous, and cruel in the highest
degree. It seems the Buddhist priests in Myanmar are no less. How Myanmar
decides to handle the ethnic divide remains to be seen.

Stuart J.Kaufman in his book Modern Hatreds shows that relating contemporary
war with the hatred of the past between societies and civilization is fundamentally
wrong. But the ground reality is, the century-old animosity between ethnic groups
or between the state and ethnic group will continue to fuel conflict.
Science and technology has vastly influenced and impacted upon civilization. It
has made the world smaller. Information now travels to all and any part of the
globe instantaneously and simultaneously. Civilization has become more diverse
and more adaptable. It has made borders and barriers, to some extent, irrelevant.
Ideas of one civilization can now penetrate another easily. The fruits of science and
technology has made life of human beings more pliant with nature and
environment. The industrial revolution has become the bench-mark and carrier of
modern civilization.

But interestingly, although all the societies have more or less transformed, the
meaning of civilization remains unchanged. This idea of civilization is again
fundamental to its journey and understanding. Man has virtually acquired ability to
destruct all the civilizations from the face of the earth within matter of days. At the
same time man also understands the significance of the rationale to choose how not
to let it happen.

Russian astrophysicist Nicolai Kardashev theorized that the height of human

excellence in science, technology and ability to harness energy will make it
possible to establish planetary, stellar, galactic, universal and multiverse culture
and civilization by stages or, scale. So that in the end human beings will be able to
manipulate universal events. However, as we see it, for next many hundred years
they will probably remain tied to the good earth. His survival will depend on
advances in sciences and discovery, protecting environment, avoiding conflict and
war and perpetuating justice and spiritualism.

Historically, civilizations have developed and declined in cycles. Franz Boas, a

twentieth century German anthropologist wrote that each civilization has its own
unique birth, peak, and decline, and cannot be compared to any other civilization.
His work culminated with his theory of relativism, which discredited prevailing
beliefs that Western civilization is superior to simpler societies. Civilization is not
something absolute, but is relative, and our ideas and conceptions are true
only so far as our civilization goes."A variety of reasons are in circulation for the
decline of civilizations.

According to Toynbee, civilizations develop in response to some set of challenges

in the environment, which require creative solutions that ultimately reorient the
entire society. When civilizations utilize new, creative ideas, they overcome
challenges and grow. When they are rigid, failing to respond to challenges, they
decline.

According to him, most civilizations declined and fell because of moral or

religious decline, which led to rigidity and the inability to be creative. Toynbee
argued that as civilizations decay, the creative and spiritual impulse dies.

It remains to be seen what will happen to the existing civilizations of the twenty-
first century. Toynbee visualizes two possibilities: they might all merge with
Western civilization, or Western civilization might decay and die. Alternatively, the
fusion of existing civilizations might lead to the emergence of a new, unified,
world civilization.

There are many factors to be considered in understanding the course of any

civilization. These include social, cultural, economic, moral and all other factors.
Whether a civilization declines or continues to develop depends on these factors, as
they determine the response to the various challenges that the civilization of today
or of the future would be facing.

Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington in his article Clash of Civilization

published in The Foreign Affairs has argued that the defining characteristic of the
twenty-first century will be a "clash of civilizations." He viewed It is my
hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be
primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among
humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. The clash of
civilizations will dominate global politics.

Some scholars maintain that, civilizations may keep on expanding , leading to a

single world civilization. That possibility remains remote because existing
civilizations are so diverse and so much divided economically, culturally and so
much opposed to one another on the question of faith. As a matter of fact,
Huntingtons observation is a much clear possibility as to how civilization will
shape its own future course. However, the one most different opinion from what
he argued is that the predominant characteristics of future conflicts will be on
religious lines. This is the basic fault line which ignited conflicts from the very
birth of human civilization continued throughout its history.

The future of civilization is rather unpredictable, inasmuch as, it can last for
millions of years. On the contrary, it could be doomed anytime by natural or man-
made catastrophe. The future of humanity and human civilization will depend on
what mechanism human beings institute to reach understanding to co-exist with
other contemporary civilizations, avert conflicts and war, explore common grounds
for cooperation;respect culture and values of one another. Finally, the survival of
civilization will also depend on whether it will remain moral and spiritual.

References:

1.Bertrand Russel: Why I am not a Christian. Watts & Co., for the Rationalist Press
Association Limited, 1927.First published as a pamphlet.

2.Arnold J. Toyenbee: A Study of History. Oxford University Press. Abridgement of

vol I-VI by D.C.Somervell.1987.

3.Stuart J.Kaufman: Modern Hatreds. The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic

War .Cornell University Press.May,2001.

4.Samuel P.Huntington:Clash of Civilization.Foreign Affairs. Summer 1993 issue.