Clash of Civilizations

Civilizations function in different ways and no two are alike; but they do have a few common traits. No matter which era one reviews, civilizations strive to better themselves and their surroundings. As the world continues to shrink, civilizations will retain values that are created individually and world economics and politics will continue to influence success and failure. Samuel Huntington wrote a thesis essay in 1993 which was published as an entire book in 1996 “The Clash of Civilization”. Huntington states the fundamental source of conflict in this new world should not be primarily ideological or primarily economical. He believes that there will be great divisions among mankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. There are many aspects to his claim that I feel are correct, but I also feel there are a few things he states that are incorrect which Huntington possibly missed or disregarded all together. Civilizations exist on values and are built on successfully taught, morals and values. Huntington states the world classification of counties will go by the wayside, but this could be far from reality. He also leads the reader to believe that economics and politics will not play a role in the outcome of civilization success.

In any culture or society, people follow values that have been handed down from generation to generation. Some of the people choose to follow these values closer than others. Stated in the article, a civilization is a cultural entity. Villages, regions, ethnic groups, nationalities, religious groups, all have distinct cultures at different levels of cultural heterogeneity (Huntington 1996). Civilizations may rely on each other during some points of conflict, but when in dire need and in the face of desperation faith will be the cornerstone that any civilizations holds tight to. When faced with conflict, a solid value system will cause a person to view conflict with wisdom and understanding which of...