Picking Up the Golden Thread of Western Civilization, by Dr. R. Jared Staudt

What would the collapse of civilization look like?

We might immediately think of cutoff utilities, disruptions in the supply chain, violence in the streets, and the lack of functional government. While it’s true these might serve as external indicators of a functioning modern society, they do not constitute the essence of civilization. A civilized person doesn’t just live in the city (the civitas that gives civilization its name) but conforms to an ideal of culture. A barbarian lives for immediate needs and wants, while a civilized person thinks and acts according to higher standards of decency and nobility, recognizing higher goods within the soul and in society.

Great civilizations have identified goals that transcend everyday concerns, such as the refinement of the mind, the cultivation of the arts, and the fostering of a life of virtue. The barbarian cannot grasp the essence or purpose of these ends, thinking them impractical or pointless, which is why they were often known for destroying the achievements of civilization. Those who worked to build up an inheritance of culture often understood its fragility and the constant need to transmit and defend it. ….

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