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"THE CIVILIZING PROCESS."
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Discusses the polarization of Western civilization.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Discusses the polarization of Western civilization. Creation of a complex society and changes in behavior. Development of social constraints and self-constraint. Social transformation. Growth of the pressures of competition. Economic violence. Division of functions. Based on N. Elias' book.
Paper Introduction:
THE SOCIAL CONSTRAINT TOWARD SELF-CONSTRAINT
“’Civilization’ is not, any more than rationalization, a product of human ratio or the result of long-term planning” (Elias 229). In other words, for the most part the changes in life in the West came about through evolution, rather than evolution. However as Elias explains (231) it is in the nature of competition that change was necessary. “The more differentiated they become, the larger grows the number of functions and thus of people on whom the individual constantly depends in all his actions” (Elias 231). It is obvious that the more complex society becomes the more change tends to occur. That change may well have begun in a time when knighthood was in flower. This includes “The transformation of the nobility from a class of knights into a class of courtiers” (Elias 236). One
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These terms seem to indicatethat the individual or individuals who exhibit these tendencies seethemselves as inferior. THE SOCIAL CONSTRAINT TOWARD SELF-CONSTRAINT "'Civilization' is not, any more than rationalization, a product ofhuman ratio or the result of long-term planning" (Elias 229). What we havehere is a divided, but ordered society, so it seems. This "unique character is the fact that here thedivision of functions has attained a level, the monopolies of force andtaxation a solidity, and inter-dependence and competition an extent, bothin terms of physical space and of numbers of people involved, unequalled inworld history" (Elias 247). "The moredifferentiated they become, the larger grows the number of functions andthus of people on whom the individual constantly depends in all hisactions" (Elias 231). This includes "The transformation of thenobility from a class of knights into a class of courtiers" (Elias 236).One result of this social change was a reduction in everyday violence.Nevertheless, this change reduced the freedom of people to express theiranger and frustration, which the warrior had always enjoyed. This is especially true when Elias (292) discusses the ideas of"shame" and "repugnance or "embarrassment". What this has created is anetwork, or web, of inter-dependence. As society grew, both in sheer numbers and in the various classesand interactions, the author also feels that there is now a socialapparatus in place in which the constraints among people are transformedinto self-constraints. In otherwords, for the most part the changes in life in the West came about throughevolution, rather than evolution. The result of this see-saw effect and the complex societal competition also "imposes on people agreater or lesser degree of self-control" (Elias 239). Thismay show up as shame or, more likely, some physical fear of others. While some of the above is general enough to fit nearly any society,there are some indications that the civilizing of the West has a veryspecial character. In civilized people - and Elias uses theexample of the transition from the medieval Catholic to the Protestantsuper-ego formation - there continues to be a pronounced shift towardinternalizing fears and inner anxieties. Self-constraint can be equated with moderation. Of course, compared to the West, the numbers hereare minuscule. In assessing the author's terminology of the growth of the pressuresof competition, it seems from reading this article that the greater theflexibility of competition and the more widespread, the more opportunityfor one group's challenging another. Infact, as Elias states (pp 234-235) this separation or differentiation ofsocial behavior is only the first and what the author considers the mostgeneral of all the various social transformations of this early period.However, violence did not disappear, it may merely have changed some of itsforms from physical to economic violence. Because of socialand economic factors, there may be more violent outbursts, but they may beconsidered, so it seems, more "civilized" than in the time of the knight-warriors. And that may result in the fact that"the larger the social spaces over which this network extends and whichbecomes integrated into functional or institutional units- the morethreatened is the social existence of the individual who gives way tospontaneous impulses and emotions" (Elias 236). Given that the civilizing of the West had imposedmore social constraints on the individuals, as well as the classes ingeneral, it has generated what Elias considers "inner tensions" (293). In short, civilizing and itscomplexities increases anxieties. This is not tosay that life was still a struggle, both physically and economically, butthere was less fear of roving knights plundering and overrunning towns andvillages. Reference Elias N.: The Civilizing Process, Vol. This polarization is what createdthe complex society, and often made some literally forced to change theirbehavior. For example, I could read the first part ofthis article and believe that it fits the early Japanese fiefdoms withroving bands of samurai. That change may well have begun in a timewhen knighthood was in flower. 2 What this reduction of the warrior class and its severance intovarious groups or classes did for Western civilization is that it resultedin "extreme polarization" (Elias 237). This civilizing and growth of Western civilization also reduced therisk of physical harm and defeat that the knights suffered. This is especially true in a change in social behavior, perhapsless formal, perhaps less under constraint from the physically powerful. This tends toseparate the civilized people from the "primitives", who "experience humanand natural events within the relatively narrow circle which is vitallyimportant to them" (Elias 297). This seems like a see-saw, if one reads the author's premisecorrectly. This may be gathered from his statement that with "thepossibility of victory or liberation....he is also thrown more frequentlyand directly between pleasure and pain" (Elias 237). In reading this passage,one wonders where a simplistic interpretation of this would be a warning tothe "free spirit" among individuals: "Don't make any waves". Economic violence, therefore, is veryreal. Itwould seem, if one reads this concept correctly, that the greater thesocial divisions and their constraints, the greater the inner tensionsleading to fear, shame, repugnance and embarrassment. It is obvious that the more complex society becomesthe more change tends to occur. However as Elias explains (231) it is inthe nature of competition that change was necessary.
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