Maria Jemimah G. Margallo Hi 18 H December 6, 2012 A Universal Civilization Samuel P.

Huntington, on chapters two and three of his book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order, explained how the Western civilizations influence is evident and extensive in what the world is currently experiencing today called a universal civilization, or what is implied as the increasing acceptance of common values, beliefs, orientations, practices, and institutions by peoples throughout the world.1 He began to describe a civilization as the broadest cultural entity the biggest we within which we feel culturally at home as distinguished from all the other thems out there2 and carried on with tackling the main civilizations that existed in contemporary times. He discussed the unidirectional impact of the Western civilization 3 that later on became multidirectional interactions among all civilizations.
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Huntington also discussed how this universal

civilization is a result of the dominance of the Western civilization, how modernization and westernization are different and the responses of societies that have to do with these issues. If you think about it, it would be rational to agree with the points of Huntington because the Western civilization truly did spread throughout the world and influenced multiple nations. However, I disagree with the notion that this universal civilization is something that we have in common with the entire world. This collective idea of culture simply cannot be uniform for all of society because of several reasons. First of all, there are a lot of major civilizations in contemporary times that have unique characteristics in terms of geography, culture, economics and politics and the entire world population cannot simply feel at home with the rest of the world. Huntington gave a list and a short description of numerous civilizations that existed or still exist until today and each of them have their own distinct ways of life. A few examples mentioned are the Sinic, the Japanese, the Latin Americans and a few others. 5 This just shows that we were all diverse groups of civilizations that learned from one another. We adapted the things we think can help in the growth of our civilization and other civilizations did the same.

Samuel P. Huntington, A Universal Civilization? Modernization and Westernization in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order (Simon & Schuster, 2011), 56. 2 Samuel P. Huntington, Civilizations in History and Today in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order (Simon & Schuster, 2011), 43. 3 Ibid., 50. 4 Ibid., 53. 5 Ibid., 45 - 47.

Second, there are no definite lines or rules that separate the boundaries of one civilization from the other; instead, civilizations are like unique colors of thread that weave, intertwine and overlap with one another, not making clear indications of separation, making up a multicolored piece of fabric. This, however, does not mean that they are in unity in terms of religion, politics and their beliefs. A group of them might be Islams, Christians or Muslims. The Christians might be a mix of people from various places or two different religions can exist in the same place at the same time. This just proves that there are not definite boundaries in certain civilizations. Lastly, the only thing that Huntington said that I agree with is that the processes of modernization were what brought about the emergence of this so-called universal civilization.
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It doesnt necessarily have to be the effect of westernization since

modernization was something universal and therefore, something that affected the entire world. In my opinion, need for improvement in technology, trade and politics were what encouraged and drove civilizations to interact with each other, share each others ideas and adapt these into their own cultures. It was more of a tool of survival and advancement rather than an attempt to copy the western civilization. Moving on, it is widely known that empires have been rising and falling throughout the course of world history. Each civilization has its own story. Before discussing the factors that lead to the decline of a civilization, it is important to stress what it is that makes it strong. First of all, it is vital for a strong civilization to be composed of individuals who strive to be the best they can be as a person in their respective fields; besides, a civilization can only live and thrive harmoniously if each of its individual structures function properly. If you are a soldier, be brave, tactful and disciplined; if you are an artist, think outside the box, explore new ideas and share your art to the community; if you are a farmer, work hard and till the soil, produce good harvest and take care of the land; and so on. As much as we are talking about civilization in the plural, the stability of an entire nation still lies on the individual people that make up that civilization. Just like the cogs and gears of a clock, these members work together in the different aspects of their government, economics and culture to become a well-oiled machine. Second, the community, as one entity, must be able to make proper use of their intellect, wit and cleverness. There were a lot of great minds in history Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Charlemagne to name a few and they were great leaders of great nations that lived on for years. An organized and thoroughly thought-out system of laws, rules and
Samuel P. Huntington, A Universal Civilization? Modernization and Westernization in The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of the World Order (Simon & Schuster, 2011), 68.
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regulations that the citizens act in accordance with is also very important. Among the few traits that the citizens must posses are discipline, cleverness and excellent leadership skills. They must be able to form good alliances, to spread their culture to other places and when twinned with a brave fleet of soldiers, they must be able to conquer vast lands. These men were also loved and adored by the people; hence earning their trust and loyalty. Lastly, and most importantly, a strong civilization has good morals and ethics. They must have unity when it comes to religion and the principles or gods they believe in. They live virtuously, armed with the knowledge to distinguish between right and wrong or between two rights, and to tread through life with a greater purpose in mind. As much as they are rational in making decisions, they never forget the emotional aspect of things such as the effect of this on the people, and their possible reactions. They must possess qualities such as fairness, love and passion for their vocation and their country, openness to other cultures, and agreeableness towards other people. Given that, we must always remember that a single sick person can trigger a chain reaction of rapidly spreading diseases. Therefore, a fall of a great kingdom can be caused by minor internal factors that start within each member of the community. When a person starts veering away from the unified religion or abounding beliefs set by the people in that civilization, the signs of decline will start to show. The feelings of belongingness and unity bring a sense of comfort and security to the citizens and when that is lost, panic and disloyalty will arise. However, as human beings, there is also something things that are not within our control. Besides, there is always a more powerful force that is greater than any of us. One good example would be the widespread of diseases in a community where they are not able to find cures for because there were no medical advancements during their time. Just like the Great Plague, a civilization can also slowly die down when they are slowly being infested with sicknesses or unforeseen battles. Lastly, most of the time, it all comes down to the person who is leading the people. If they put the fate of an entire empire into the hands of an incompetent leader, there is no doubt that that empire will collapse. An incompetent leader usually makes irrational decisions and hasty plans for improvement that are usually only for personal gain. This will cause the masses the ones, who, in reality, hold power more then everybody else to complain. These internal struggles form cracks in the sturdy walls of an empire, starting the decline of it until it eventually falls into pieces.