The Crisis of Civilization - Literature review Example

The Crisis of Civilization Dr. Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed argued that the numerous economic, natural as well as social disasters which the world is currently witnessing should be perceived as a direct result of the failure of the global system that the contemporary society has been desperately trying to build over the course of the previous several centuries. This paper will explore the evidence that will support this position. It will argue that the current economic crisis, climatic changes as well as social disruptions are produced by the failure of the mankind to abandon the path of industrial development and correctly acknowledge all negative consequences that it brings. This paper will present views that are taken from multiple sources and expressed in different times, each proving that the contemporary global community is developing in the wrong way. To begin with, it may be particularly important to state that industrial civilization is a rather unsustainable way of social organization of the social environment; yet, in order to understand it, one should take a close look at all the available evidence and not review each of them in the isolation. Indeed, it is largely suggested that the contemporary state of affair urges the companies to grow just to ensure their survival; however, it is absolutely understandable that the uncontrolled as well as perpetual growth is impossible (Ahmed ,2012). In other words, the fundamental principle that the modern economies are based on is fallacious and is not able to bring any positive consequences in the long run. Quite the opposite, different disastrous events in various parts of the world should be seen as the direct outcomes of this industrial development. Nevertheless, the humanity fails to see this as each of them is analyzed in isolation by a specific group of scientists. For example, climatologist study climatic changes, but they will not be able to understand its true causes without economists who, in their turn, fail to see the impact of the contemporary economic system on the environment. All this leads to the situation when the intellectual potential of the humanity is not used properly as it is not able to draw the essential connections between different aspects of reality, failing to produce a comprehensive understanding of it. The situation above primarily happens because the scientists tend to me focused on their subject of research, dismissing other aspects that they think will distract them, but in reality they provide the necessary perspective on matters. For example, it was noted that “psychological, intellectual and moral motivations that support the activity of production are seen today as more and more decisive factors but ones that are evasive”(Radar & Ferguson, 1986). This shows that such field of knowledge is Economics can no longer rely on its closed framework, but will surely benefit from engaging other sciences that it might have dismissed previously, such as Psychology. In other words, this multidisciplinary approach towards examination of the contemporary phenomena is the only one that is able to help the scientists to develop a correct understanding of the world. Keeping in mind that for a certain time science was not able to do that, it would not be a mistake to suggest that there is a crisis in it as well which is produced by the gap between theory and practice. Roettger (1974) argues that “since sociology is a reflection of the dominant culture, the “crisis of Western Sociology” is by implication a ‘Crisis of Industrial Society’”. All this leads to the understanding that the problems that the world is experiencing at the present moment can not be narrowed down to economics or environment, they can be found in science as well. Roettger (1974) admits that this can be well explained by “the interplay between the theoretical subculture of sociology and the prevailing culture … the utilitarian culture which formed the moral matrix out of which Western industrial societies sprang”. One might suggest that the failure of the mankind to address the problems that it currently witnesses roots in the separation of science and reality: the former simply was not able to reflect the actual state of affairs and acknowledge the real driving forces of the global community. This resulted in the fact that the scientists were misled by their theories and the more they developed them, the more the gap was becoming wider. So, bridging this gap is the only logical solution that is able to have a positive impact on the current state of affairs. Nevertheless, one should also acknowledge the fact that the global community has been following the general principles that have been guiding it for a considerable period of time as they were maintained by the most powerful part of the society. Thus, Fairchild (1938) explains the conflict between the guiding principle and the actual reality in the following way: “in the course of social change, the sensible practical applications of every principle are modified, while the statement of the principle tends to remain rigid”. This means that means that at a certain point the industrial model of the society might have been effective and beneficial, but it is outdated. However, it is still being maintained by those who are able to gain profit from it. Fairchild (1938) carries on his investigation, pointing out that “those individuals who have profited… through the traditional functioning of a given organization are naturally insistent upon the maintenance of that organization and the principles which it is supposed to represent”. So, one is able to see very clearly that the large corporations promote industrialization because they experiences a tremendous benefit from and they do not take into account that in the long run the principles that they were advocating will bring to horrible consequences. That is why it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the desire to maintain a profitable position should be named among one of the factors that is directly responsible for current crisis of civilization. If one takes a careful look at the industrial society, one will be able to see that one of the essential elements of it is the appreciation of the free market: something that replaced the social structure that existed before the industrial age. Some scholars suggest that “Free Market which is made the deus ex machina of the industrial system, is magnified to mythological proportions and significance unjustified by facts” (Sims, 1938). Indeed, the majority of efforts of many organizations were directed at securing that the freedom of the market from the external influence of the government. Since these efforts succeeded in many cases, the contemporary situation may be regarded as the proof of the inconsistency of the idea of free market. Therefore, it may be quite logical that “the real cure is a restoration of Catholicism and the guild [system that was produced by it]” (Sims, 1938). It is quite understandable that the world should not be guided by any religion; however, the medieval times that preceded the industrial world shows that stratification of the social environment may prove to be quite effective. Obviously, one might suggest that its alleged effectiveness” is proved by the lack of global disasters that are witnessed today as they could not have happed, because the world was not globalized. Nevertheless, this approach shows that the position that is advocated by the contemporary science may be fallacious and, therefore, should be abandoned as it led to terrible consequences. This situation is not new to science: there are numerous examples when some of the best intellectuals of the world supported ideas that are currently deemed as absolutely wrong; so, multiculturalism, the core of the contemporary industrial society should be critically examined. For example, the modern world is largely affected by the war against terror. However, Statham (2003) points out that “we see certain academic intellectual cleverly and sophisticatedly defending terrorists and terrorism in the name of tolerance and equality and denouncing the defense of freedom as narrow-minded patriotism”. This shows that valuable intellectual resources of the society are wasted on supporting the wrong cause. While many would agree that terrorism is the enemy of the contemporary globalized world, only few would find fault in other concept that is being actively promoted by the industrialized society. According to Statham (2003) “the greatest internal, domestic threat to America is the devastating anti-intellectual, immoral impact of multicultural, radical-egalitarian relativism”. In other words, what the majority of the countries today are fighting for actually causes the problems that they have to face. Nevertheless, the world is not able to acknowledge the real cause of these problems and carries on following the path that will ultimately lead it to a disaster. So, the people should perceive the current state of affairs as a warning and change their course of action until it is too late. Finally, one might suggest that if the humanity fully understands the real causes of the contemporary problems, it will be able to find a solution to them very easily; for example the issues of crime and terrorism might be linked together through the concept of violence that is directed in different ways. Indeed, the culture of the industrialized society promotes the acceptance of innate aggression in the form of competition, but excess of it in the domestic field contributes to the emergence of crime (Tepperman & Curtis, 2011). This means that the society should change it priorities and stop endorsing competition in the free market so much as it nurtures the aggression which might result in the uncontrolled violence. Furthermore, if the latter crosses the national boundaries, one is able to witness such phenomena as war and terrorism. Indeed, in the contemporary globalized world it is not only commodities that are able to cross the boundaries easily, but acts of aggression as well. The famous attack on the World Trade Center is a perfect example of how a group of people who originated in one part of the world was able to perform horrible acts thousand of miles away. It must be noted that all this become possible because of globalization which was advocated by the industrial society. Having examined all the points which were brought up in the paragraphs above, it becomes apparent that the current economic crisis, climatic changes as well as social disruptions are produced by the failure of the mankind to abandon the path of industrial development and correctly acknowledge all negative consequences that it brings. Therefore, the current paradigm of life that is being promoted by the industrialized global society is clearly fallacious. References The crisis of civilization [Motion picture]. (2012). Iron Weed Film Club. Fairchild, H. (1938). Review. American Sociological Review, 3(1), 100-102. Radar, E., & Ferguson, J. (1986). Crisis and Civilization. Diogenes, 34, 29-45. Roettger, W. (1974). Review. Political Theory, 2(2), 223-225. Sims, N. (1938). Review. American Sociological Review, 3(1), 109-110. Statham, E. (2003). On the Crisis of American Civilization, Post-September 11. Perspectives on Political Science, 32(4), 221-226. Tepperman, L., & Curtis, J. (2011). Social problems: A Canadian perspective (3rd ed.). Toronto: Oxford University Press. Read More