Is Barbarism Better?

Is Barbarism Better?

It is a favorite theme in modern Western Culture to denigrate Advanced Civilizations while glorifying the characteristics of Barbarism – individuality, freedom, snubbing one’s nose at Authority. The Bandit, the Rebel, the Viking, the Outlaw are set across to us as Heroes, while Civilizations are portrayed as Evil Empires and the advocates for Civilization are represented as degenerate dictators.

Yes, one factor involved here is that it is so much easier to make Barbarism appear to be attractive and fascinating … with the right editing. Civilization, though, looks boring.

But lets remember the basics. Civilizations can be distinguished from Barbarisms entirely on the basis of Population Density. The Institutions of Civilization permit greater population densities. Barbarism, on the other hand requires broad open spaces. In order to support so much Individuality and Freedom, great distances have to be placed between the individuals involved, so as to avoid conflict. The Pursuit of Happiness is fine until there is no longer enough Happiness to go around. So when the Population increases within Barbarisms begin to stress these Barbarian Values, then the very bloody conflicts that ensue, cut down the very Population increases that had been the problem. So it is that Barbarisms depend upon Wars, or violent civil conflicts… whatever can be the excuse for wholesale slaughter. It is this cyclical violence inherent to Barbarism that is edited out of the Popular Media Presentation of ‘Noble’ Barbarism.

The movies tend to depict Barbarian Violence as accidental or aberrational… these noble savages were minding their own business when some other nasty tribe attacked them. Actually, the violence really is built into the System. Every Barbarian People will resort to violence as it feels itself being squeezed. It’s a defining characteristic.

How are Civilized People different? Well, Civilized People develop a tolerance for the Institutions that permit for a higher population density. Respect for authority, property, accepted roles, polite forms, shared values, and especially the inhibited resort to aggression and a respect for peace.

Now, Barbarism is applauded for its Freedoms, but we must understand that it rests upon Violence. We are told that Civilization is oppressive and is essentially boring, but we need to know that this is what Peace looks like. Well, Barbarians pretend to admire Peace, but usually as a consequence of their endless Wars, where Peace is understood to be a much desired breathing space – a vacation from their day to day work – before they find they need to rush into another conflict. Yes, they enjoy these momentary respites from violence, but it doesn’t keep them from pursuing their same violent tendencies as a matter of course.

Now, there are no perfect Civilizations and no Exact Barbarisms. No Civilization has yet survived. They have all fallen. Their Institutions should perfectly enable an Infinitely Dense level of Population, but in practice we find that Civilizations eventually bust apart at their seams. The better Civilizations get further and last longer. They have Population Control Institutions – we see widespread institutionalizations for Monks and Nuns and we see a Virtue made of celibacy, virginity… indeed, anything that restrains population growth, so that Civilization might be able to hit a viable Equilibrium, where it may be able to sustain itself at an Optimum but not increasing Population Level. And this is theoretically possible. Now, some people confuse Ideals with Realities and object that since babies are needed, no virtue should be made of celibacy. Well, such objections are silly. No matter WHAT a Civilization teaches, the Sexual Urge will always be strong enough to guarantee MORE than enough babies. Whatever ground can be gained against the Sexual Urge, and the Female Instinct to create much cherished Pet Babies, is to be appreciated, but will never be enough.

But Barbarisms can never be self-sustaining, not without murderous violence. You see, Freedom involves a great deal of copulation, and copulation brings population, and population will engender either Civilized Institutions that could promote the tolerance of higher population densities, or the Barbarisms will simply explode, setting back the numbers back to comfortable levels.

The World today pretends to be Civilized – the Barbarians, like the Ancient Greek Barbarians before, call themselves Civilized… apparently not knowing what the word really means. But as the Media reflects, and as History describes, much is conducted by the Ways of Barbarism. The World Wars of the 20th Century came about as Population Pressures were beginning to manifest along with the opposing doctrines of Anarchy and Communism – Communism as a Intellectual Civilizing Mechanism which could support a greater population density; and Anarchy as a visceral spark to begin the Genocidal Slaughter that could return the Barbarism back to its comfort level.

Then we have what almost seems like accidental Institutions for Population Control. For instance, in America, we have the widening Police State where 25% of the adult population is jailed – and jailed at that time of life where they would otherwise be raising families. Prisons are the New Monasteries and prisoners are the new Monks and Nuns. And it seems as though it had all be organized by some vast accident, until we think that most offenses are Drug Related. You see, after the First World War, alcohol was criminalized, but when popular discontent ended that Prohibition, the State went on to criminalize Drugs, all while maintaining a large enough flow of drugs to guarantee that 25% of Americans could be incarcerated. It seemed like it was somebody’s idea that there would be Prisons, and a body of laws was created to enable these Prisons to be packed to capacity. Nobody published a Political Philosophy to justify this Police State Mechanism, but it exists nonetheless. It is a strange way of running a Civilization, but it is indeed an Institution for maintaining and controlling Population Density. I have been a constant defender of Civilization and Civilized Institutions, but, really, History shows us much better models than this, and it is difficult to defend just any Civilized Institution.

We can only conclude that some Civilizations are better than others.

Now, we can have hope in the fact that all Civilizations arise from Barbarisms that had decided to organize… Barbarisms that had gotten tired of their endless wars and conflicts and decided to give Civilization a try. Perhaps a new Rising Barbarism, aspiring to a Better Civilization, would be better than a Civilization that depends now upon its Prisons.