slavery and civilization

All civilizations, including modern Western civilization, were based upon slave labor, and there is plenty of evidence to support the view that without slavery of one sort or another no great civilization could have existed - or can continue to exist.

While many factors determine the fall of civilizations, it is interesting to note that the British Empire - the bastion of Western civilization - crumbled in 1947 just over a hundred years after abolishing slavery in all British dominions in 1807 and in all British colonies in 1833.

Slavery, of course, persisted in the USA until the Civil War of 1865, but there are those who claim that it persists in the guise of slave wages and illegal immigrant workers - the existence of both type of 'slaves' being responsible for its present global power.

The Russian civilization - dating back to 950 AD - overthrew slavery and monarchy in the revolution of 1917, but it, too, crumbled in 1989 as a result of the grinding poverty and wage slavery imposed upon the proletariats by their so-called egalitarian masters.

The Chinese civilization - dating back to 589 AD and related to the former Sinic civilization - overthrew in 1853 the hated Manchu rulers who forced all adult males to shave their heads or lose them, and then it went through a hundred years of internal strife and foreign invasion before the communists took over in 1949 and instituted a social system similar to that of Russia's which turned out to have a similar result.

The Japanese civilization - dating back to 645 AD and also related to the former Sinic civilization - relied heavily on immigrant 'slave' labor until it was forced to reinvent itself after its humiliating defeat in World War II.

The Hindu civilization - dating back to 810 AD - continues to be based on a rigid caste system which, in effect, is slavery of a lower caste by a higher caste but nobody openly admits it. As such, Indian civilization - based upon the premise that no civilization can exist without slave labor - is likely to continue forever!

The only existing civilization that continues with blatant slavery - sanctioned or not - is the Islamic civilization dating back to 1320 AD.

In that many workers in western style countries earn barely enough to sustain themselves, it can be argued that they are not much better off than the slaves of yesteryear and probably worse off because many slave-holders treated their slaves kindly, sometimes as part of the family. In fact, modern employers gain a lot more profit out of their 'wage slaves' than they did out of those they once shackled, so the whole notion of 'freedom' is spurious.

As the world at the start of the 21st century heads towards a clash of civilizations - namely the Islamic civilization and what remains of Western civilization - it is likely that unless the populations of western countries become more willing 'slaves' of the ruling classes, working for less reward and offering up their lives in the same manner that Islamic populations do, the freedoms afforded by Western civilization will be its ultimate downfall.

resurrecting ancient civilizations

Of the ancient civilizations that were overpowered by another civilization, it can be argued that those remaining in a unique geographic area, with a unique ethnicity, language and social structure - such as the Eskimo civilization of 1100BC-1850BC - can once again become a separate and unique civilization by gaining independence and eschewing the values of the civilization that overpowered it.

If civilization is a stage in the evolution of society, then reverting to a former stage does not negate viability and may, in fact, protect that society from extinction.

India, for instance, was once part of the British Empire and in all practical purposes for the period of occupation it adopted the values of its western conqueror. With independence, it successfully regained its separate and unique status as a civilization - as if the British had never been there!

An interesting scenario for the future of mankind would be the resurgence not only of all of the ancient civilizations but all of the ancient cultures, too. That the American Indians and the Australian Aborigines are asserting the uniqueness of their race and culture is something to be applauded.

If western civilization can put heritage orders on structural, environmental and animal treasures - and spend millions to preserve them - then it is only good sense that distinctive peoples should be given the same rights.