Definition of civilization: basic concepts, categories and differences from other societies

The definition of civilization appeared quite a long time ago, even 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. He could not be violated by any member of society, regardless of his wealth, the number of servants and other parameters that determine a person's prosperity or lack thereof. That is, in a sense, with the help of this concept, people have become equal to each other, they are equally responsible for certain misconduct.

Virtues are the founders of the first legislation. The main step on the road to a civilized society

Since the definition of civilization appeared, as already mentioned above, the division of people into different types began. The first, the barbarians, submitted solely to their leader. It could be a king, a leader or an ordinary person with leadership qualities. For them there was no honor, no rules. Everything they did could only be punished by the leader. In fact, they had complete freedom, which, naturally, led to anarchy. The second, civilized people, obeyed not 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.

Categories of civilization

It should be noted that civilization is a definition, the concepts of which are divided into several separate categories:

1. Culture. It is a system that distributes and stores material and spiritual values. It can be languages, scripts, traditions, jewelry, elements of national life and the like.
2. 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 certain country you can observe your mentality, religion or thinking. This will be an ideology.
3. Policy. In any civilized society, there must necessarily be people who will see to it that laws are strictly enforced. They are responsible for causing the perpetrators of the trouble and the violators of the rules to be punished. These people are political figures, and without them the existence of civilization can become simply impossible.
4. 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 entirely helps in this.

Local civilization

It is worth adding that the concept of local civilization differs slightly from the generalized meaning of this word. It is oriented only to one society, a country or a settlement. Even in one state there may be several cities that will have different categories of civilization. Some, for example, consider it important to build factories and engage in industry, others will invest in agriculture.

Nobody has so far been able to determine exactly who is taking the most part in shaping a civilized society. Some argue that this is done by creative minorities. The bulk of the inhabitants just follow them. If you change the creator, then the civilized system will change. Others assume that each individual individually builds a civilization. At least if many people adhere to a second opinion, then all the above categories will move more rapidly towards the ideal.