THE STANDARD OF CIVILIZATION

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THE STANDARD OF CIVILIZATION​

In 1929 lucien febvre offered the first systematic reflection on the evolution of the meanings of the term ‘civilization’, from singular ideal, which he dated to the third quarter of the 18th century, to plural fact, which he placed at the close of the Napoleonic epoch. In 1944–45 he devoted his last lecture course to ‘Europe: genesis of a civilization’, and a year later added the word Civilisations to Économies et Sociétés in the title of the Annales journal itself. Just before he died, he penned a sharp note approving a colleague’s dismissal of Valéry’s famous dictum that this civilization had now realized it was mortal: ‘In fact, it is not civilizations that are mortal. The current of civilization persists across passing eclipses . . . Sober deflation of a windbag.’footnote1 A decade later, Fernand Braudel would concur: ‘When Paul Valéry declared “Civilizations, we know you to be mortal”, he was surely exaggerating. The seasons of history cause the flowers and the fruit to fall, but the tree remains. At the very least, it is much harder to kill.’footnote2

Read the rest:

Perry Anderson, The Standard of Civilization, NLR 143, September–October 2023

A world order governed by the rule of law is the mainstay of the West’s claim to leadership. A host of institutions, topped by the UN itself, lend this principle material form. But what is the juridical nature of international law? History, theory and practice of a powerful hegemonic instrument.

newleftreview.org