Is modern civilization a failure?

Introduction:

 Modern civilization- An overview

 Comparison with old and cherished civilization
 Modern civilization failure- a dilemma

Main body:

Characteristics of modern civilization:

 Increasing role of science and technology

 Mass literacy and proliferation of mass media
 Spread of social movements
 Institution of representative democracy
 Individualism
 Industrialization
 Urbanization
 Better standard of living
 Increased life expectancy
 Quick modes of transportation and communication
 Globalization
 Automation of work

Causes of failure of modern civilization:

 Inter-state disharmony: world wars

 Economic inequality
 Mechanical approach: over-use of technology
 Cultural invasions
 Violation of human rights
 Decay of family system
 Secular orientation of societies
 Blatant flout of law by the powerful
 Claustrophobia
  Misuse of technology: nuclear arms, over exploitation of earth, biological weapons,
etc.
 Climate-change
 Failure of United Nation
 Failure to eliminate terrorism

Recommendations:

 Take a systemic view of the life on earth: avoid myopia

 Reconsider man-environment relationship
 Halt unsustainable exploitation of natural resources
 Assertive society and inculcate tolerance
 Facilitate the transition from a uni-polar to a multi-polar world
 Revamp education policies
 Encourage cosmopolitan approach: inter-nation harmony
 Curb the economic exploitation
 Discourage social evil like poverty, gender discrimination etc.
 Make UN effectual to resolve conflicts

Conclusion:
“Cheshire-Puss,” Alice began… ” would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?” “That
depends a good deal on where you want to go,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where.” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter much which way you go… ” said the Cat. Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

Man is divided into communities, nations and geographical boundaries. He leads his life
according to the norms and traditions of his community and region. Religious and economic
beliefs are the bases of rites and traditions followed by him. Religions affect the lifestyle
invariably. This lifestyle when becomes old enough and goes deep in the roots is called the
civilization. All the world civilizations are founded on some ethereal or mundane beliefs. These
creeds are sometimes local and sometimes imported and acclimatized.

The civilization or culture has many layers. One is religious and other layer is moral, the
third one might be social or economic. But all these layers are woven in such a way that they
become a complete whole. It is not easy to differentiate between one and the other from the
fabric of life. The civilizations change with the passage of time and advancement in knowledge.
The modern age has its own rites and traditions that make it modern and we are constrained to
name it modern civilization.

Jesus wept; Voltaire smiled. From that divine tear and from that human smile is derived
the grace of present civilization-Victor Hugo

Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle
Ages. The term "modern" was coined shortly before 1585 to describe the beginning of a new era.
The European Renaissance is an important threshold in this context. In the Pre-Modern era,
many people's sense of self and purpose was often expressed via a faith in some form of deity, be
that in a single God or in many Gods. Pre-modern cultures have not been thought of creating a
sense of distinct individuality though. Religious officials, who often held positions of power,
were the spiritual intermediaries to the common person. It was only through these intermediaries
that the general masses had access to the divine. Tradition was sacred to ancient cultures and was
unchanging and the social order of ceremony and morals in a culture could be strictly enforced.

In contrast to the pre-modern era, Western civilization made a gradual transition when
scientific methods were developed which led many to believe that the use of science would lead
to all knowledge, thus throwing back the shroud of myth under which pre-modern peoples lived.
New information about the world was discovered via empirical observation versus the historic
use of reason and innate knowledge. The “modern period” though has been a period of
significant development in the fields of science, politics, warfare, and technology. It has also
been an age of discovery and globalization. It was during this time that the European powers and
later their colonies began a political, economic, and cultural colonization of the rest of the world.

We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science
and technology-Carl Sagan

By the late 19th and 20th centuries, modernist art, politics, science and culture has come
to dominate not only Western Europe and North America, but almost every civilized area on the
globe, including movements thought of as opposed to the west and globalization. The modern era
is closely associated with the development of individualism, capitalism, urbanization and a belief
in the possibilities of technological and political progress. The brutal wars and other problems of
this era, many of which come from the effects of rapid change, and the connected loss of strength
of traditional religious and ethical norms, have led to many reactions against modern
development.

“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”
Albert Einstein

There are the protagonists of the modern civilization who think it as the most superior to older
cultures. They are of the view that this civilization surpasses all the religions and political
affiliations. On the other hand the antagonist of this way of thought propound that it is not a
civilization but a temporary phenomenon. They base it on the premise that it is not up to any
accepted and standard definition of civilization. It is not based on any permanent idea and theory.
For a deeper understanding of this pivotal issue, we need to delve deeper into the merits and
demerits which have been concomitant to the rise of the modern civilization.

The modern civilization – the world of the 21st Century has become so interconnected
that the phrase "the global village" has become acceptable as a term to describe modern society.
Today information technology links people and places from all civilizations, and national
economies have become increasingly interconnected. Whether it is commerce or media,
manufacturing or agriculture, the advancing globalization of human activity would be
unthinkable without the development of science and technology. Their contributions have not
always been beneficial; indeed, many would argue that science is to be blamed for the
deterioration of the global environment that we are witnessing today. But is it science that,
through its applications, leads to global warming, the ozone hole, weapons of mass destruction
and widespread poverty? Or do these developments occur through actions of those who control
science and use its findings for their own aims?
Each of us in our own way can try to spread compassion into people’s hearts. Western
civilizations these days place great importance on filling the human 'brain' with knowledge,
but no one seems to care about filling the human 'heart' with compassion. This is what the
real role of religion is.”-Dalai Lama quotes

Since the '50s, when cinema, radio and TV began to be the primary or the only source of
information for a larger and larger percentage of the population, these media began to be
considered as central instruments of mass control. Mass media play a significant role in shaping
public perceptions on a variety of important issues, both through the information that is
dispensed through them, and through the interpretations they place upon this information. They
also play a large role in shaping modern culture, by selecting and portraying a particular set of
beliefs, values, and traditions (an entire way of life), as reality. That is, by portraying a certain
interpretation of reality, they shape reality to be more in line with that interpretation.

Thus, in the context of modern civilization, correctly or wrongly, the feelings and
perceptions of many via alteration of their moral values has taken place through mass media.
Social interaction has hugely increased but now that has ventured into other domains as more
importance in many spheres is being placed upon career enhancements and fulfillments of
material desires. The choices available to individuals have greatly enhanced and lesser
restrictions overall are imposed.

However, to many there exists a parallel world where the old traditions and norms are
still being kept alive although diluted to varying extents by the invasion of the modern
technologies and Western culture. This holds true mostly for the lesser developed nations of the
world and the Islamic counties at large, which find that their own civilization has taken a
somewhat hybrid shape where clashes between modernity and historical norms have given rise to
raging debates regarding the societal changes being experienced.

Modern Western social movements became possible through education (the wider
dissemination of literature), and increased mobility of labor due to the industrialization and
urbanization of 19th century societies. It is sometimes argued that the freedom of expression,
education and relative economic independence prevalent in the modern Western culture is
responsible for the unprecedented number and scope of various contemporary social movements.
This was in sharp contrast to the doctrines professed in Dark Ages that shunned experimentations
and rewarded handsomely the proponents of the status quo.
 Several key processes lie behind the history of social movements. Urbanization led to
larger settlements, where people of similar goals could find each other, gather and organize. This
facilitated social interaction between scores of people, and it was in urban areas that those early
social movements first appeared. Similarly, the process of industrialization which gathered large
masses of workers in the same region explains why many of those early social movements
addressed matters such as economic wellbeing, important to the worker class. Many other social
movements were created at universities, where the process of mass education brought many
people together. With the development of communication technologies, creation and activities of
social movements became easier - from printed pamphlets circulating in the 18th century
coffeehouses to newspapers and Internet, all those tools became important factors in the growth
of the social movements. Finally, the spread of democracy and political rights like the freedom
of speech made the creation and functioning of social movements much easier.

Individualism and capitalism have gathered force in this era. It is the moral stance,
political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual".
Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so independence and self-
reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own interests, whether by society,
family or any other group or institution. Individualism makes the individual its focus and so it
starts "with the fundamental premise that the human individual is of primary importance in the
struggle for liberation." This stance has been found at odds with the theories of collective well-
being ensconced in many religions including Islam, as social well-being is considered to be
sacrificed at the altar of individualism and capitalism – attributed to be the causes of many social
upheavals and catastrophes. This has found to be eroding the family fabric too as it has become
quite commonplace in many so-considered advanced civilizations for the children to become
rebellious to the family norms and traditions, in the name of modernity.

“Today we are faced with the preeminent fact that, if civilization is to survive, we
must cultivate the science of human relationships - the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to
live together, in the same world, at peace”-Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd US President

The standard of living in this era has improved from the point of view of the ones who
consider worldly luxuries, interactive capabilities and fads which appeal to the senses as the
main attractions of life. No doubt, it has become a global village with the proliferation of internet
facilitating dissemination, research and interactions beyond a level imaginable hitherto. The
phenomenon has gathered pace especially in the last decade and is continuing at break-neck
pace. This has also spawned conflicts which have spiraled out of control resulting in
international conflicts like the World Wars responsible for the killings of millions of people
worldwide. This, to my opinion, is largely centered around the human trait for power and
arrogation of resources for own people. Now here, we can observe that these unfortunate clashes
bear the hallmark of greed and have been going on intermittently ever since human life
originated. Thus the modern civilization cannot be blamed for promoting warfare. However, it
has to be realized that the capacity of mass destruction through the invention and development of
incredibly destructive nuclear armaments has brought the world to the brink of possible
extinction through nuclear war trigger. There are areas of the world like Indo-Pak and North
Korea - South Korea divide which are considered widely to be the most dangerous nuclear
flashpoints.

Cultural invasions are the order of this era as Westernization of the world has been taking
place through widespread support of mass media and the lure of capitalism. This has wreaked
absolute havoc in many traditional societies and cultures, as a deep-rooted nostalgic feeling of
loss of cultural values especially amongst the older generations has embedded.

The race for more resources and a better standard of living has aggravated the issues and
plight of social inequality with the gap between the rich and poor ever on the increase. On a
grand scale, this can be traced for the hegemonic designs of the very powerful over the rest of the
world. American invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan has resulted in untold cultural and
organizational damage to large sections of the world populace which look in desperation at the
failure of United Nations to curb this menace of thinly-veiled attacks on independent nations at
concocted premises.

The rush of capitalism towards providing a better standard of living has given rise to a
multitude of governance issues which culminated in the massive economic meltdowns
experienced in the dotcom bubble and the recent financial crises. The problems developed and
took their shape as a direct result of the failure to institute proper systems of control over human
greed, as shady practices were largely rewarded. To many, this has raised the notion of revisiting
the premises on which the modern thrust is based and a shift towards a more restrained form of
capitalism.

Climatic changes with the much talked about global warming is a direct result of the mass
industrialization and unabated and unfettered use historically of many nations and their powerful
multinationals of natural resources. To this day, the governments of the world dither and have
failed to achieve consensus over this catastrophic issue of global warming – the failure of talks
for successor of Kyoto Protocol is but a reminder of how the powerful nations have hijacked the
situation to their advantage.

America has not led but fled on the issue of global warming. - Senator John Kerry.

It is clear to me that the most fundamental downside of the modern civilization is the rise
of the notion of unipolarity. The sheer dominance of USA has precipitated a major monumental
problem for the current human civilization. Unipolarity is in fact narcissism, a collective
personality disorder. Narcissists are self-centered and make their needs and interests paramount
over all others. They are insensitive to others, rationalize everything they do, and have a
pathological need to control. It is quite evident that the US is in the grips of a collective
narcissistic disorder, led by a man with malignant narcissism – grandiose in claims, manipulating
others for its own purposes, and believing its own press releases.

On a more theoretical level, the constitutional foundation of the USA, and the many months and
years of discussion by its founders over two hundred years ago, leading up to the formation of
the new country was based on the realization that absolute power is abusive and, if unchecked
and unbalanced, can lead to gross corruption. One only has to look at the current occupant of the
White House to see the wisdom of that observation, for today, intoxicated by an illusion of
absolute power. The sheer arrogance and the utter disregard for the rights of other peoples to lead
their lives in accordance with their beliefs and traditions, stemming from the clash of those
values with the American ones, is indicative of a pressing disturbing phenomenon afflicting the
modern times. Where this will lead to eventually, remains to be seen.

At the point where we stand, in my view the following systematic recommendations would
greatly ameliorate the sufferings and bring about positive impacts of on this continuous march of
human civilization, minimizing the pernicious impacts it has wrought on many in the society:

We should take a systemic view of the life on earth – this can be achieved through
appreciating and understanding the rights of others too on the worldly resources and need to
maintain tolerance not just through words but through deeds too. We should borrow wisdom
from the scientists like Graham Bell, Alexander Felmning etc, whose inventions were not limited
to specific community, rather they tried to serve the whole mankind. Even in the contemporary
world, the giants like Microsoft or IBM are steering away the technological progress of not just a
few people but of the whole human race. Thus we need to think about the whole life on earth and
dedicate our energies on its collective benefit.

The United Nations here has to take the lead as this is the world body charged with the collective
responsibility of fostering tolerance and peace. It should be reconfigured to rid the most powerful
countries of their exclusive veto powers, a power which has been used to assert western
dominance over the poor nations of the world, however unjustifiable and arbitrary they seem.

Reconsidering man-environment relationship is imperative as only through that can the

world survive in the long run since already the scale of massive destruction wrought on the
world, climate and environment is a topic nobody is aloof from. We must establish a symbiotic
relationship with the nature for the collective benefit of environment and human kind. The
modern civilization should facilitate the transition from a unipolar to a multi-polar world. Here
again, this can best be done through political reconfigurations and for the men at the helm of
affairs at the United Nations to exercise their diligence and conscience in a proper manner.

Revamping of education policies needs to be engendered to foster international tolerance

and regards for other cultures too. There should be more stress placed on aspects of humanity to
be professed at the highest practical levels. In Western areas, there has been a curb on the
menaces of poverty and discrimination largely, but large areas of the world remain afflicted with
this. A shift or refocus towards these backwards areas is the need of the day as ultimately
individualism would push these suffering masses more towards misery.

For centuries humans lived within the parameters of nature thus yielding a symbiosis
relationship, which enabled man to progress. But modern society abandoned reciprocity with the
natural world in pursuit of its command over it, thus reneged an ancient covenant with nature.
Thought, modern humanity has achieved great material success, but scientific findings also
suggest that in pursuit of this achievement, human society has inadvertently put its future at risk.
Still interfaced with the natural world, modern humanity lives in a fabricated environment which
appears to be developing more rapidly than have human bio-adaptive capabilities. In
consequence, the dangers like global warming, pollution, acid rains, ozone depletion etc. are
looming larger before the human race.
 Added to that, the menace of unipolarism is a monster which has to be controlled. The
inexorable march towards scientific progress is not a bad occurrence at all, but systems of control
need to be tightened to reign in the rogue elements which abuse their powers and those of
scientific technologies. Whether the modern civilization is a success or a failure depends largely
on the perspective of the person making the judgment call, but in my opinion if the given
recommendations are implemented and followed, it would make the world a more comfortable
place for all. After all, the collective well-being of the human race and nature are paramount. In
the surge for procurement and control of more resources, this stark truth must never be allowed
to be pushed to the sidelines.