790. Does civilization represent progress for humankind or does it represent decadence, as some philosophers profess?
“Incomplete progress because humankind does not pass suddenly from infancy to maturity.”
– Is it reasonable to condemn civilization?
“Instead, condemn those who abuse it; don’t condemn the work of God.”
791. Will civilization be purified one day so that the evils it has produced will disappear?
“Yes, when morality is as developed as intelligence. The fruit cannot come before the blossom.”
792. Why doesn’t civilization immediately effectuate all the good it could produce?
“Because humans are not yet ready or disposed to obtain that good.”
– Wouldn’t it also be because in creating new needs it incites new passions?
“Yes, and because all of a spirit’s faculties do not evolve in tandem – everything takes time. You cannot expect perfect fruit from an imperfect civilization.” (See nos. 751-780)
793. By what signs may one recognize a completed civilization?
“You will recognize it by its moral development. You believe yourselves to be very advanced because you have made great discoveries and wonderful inventions, and because you are better situated and better clothed than primitives. However, you will only have the right to truly call yourselves civilized when you have finally banished the vices from your society that dishonor it, and when you finally live as brothers and sisters by practicing Christian charity. Until then, you are really no more than enlightened cultures that have passed through only the first phase of civilization.”
Civilization goes through stages of development, like everything else. An incomplete civilization is in a state of transition which engenders special evils unknown in the primitive state, but which nonetheless constitute a natural and necessary progress that brings with it the remedy for those very evils. As civilization perfects itself, it puts an end to some of the evils it has engendered, and all evils will eventually disappear with moral progress.
Of two cultures that have reached the summit of the social scale, the one that may be called the more advanced, in the true sense of the word, is the one where the least selfishness, cupidity, and pride are found; where the customs are more intellectual and moral than material; where intelligence can develop with more freedom; where there is more kindness, good faith, and reciprocal benevolence and generosity; where the prejudices of caste and birth are less rooted, for such prejudices are incompatible with true love for one’s neighbor; where the laws do not grant any special privileges and are the same for the last as for the first; where justice is administered with the least partiality; where the weak always find support against the strong; where human life, beliefs and opinions are better respected; where there are fewer unhappy individuals; and lastly, where persons of goodwill are always sure they will not lack the minimum of what is needed to live on.
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