Whatever the present-time particular, distinguishing characteristics of any civilization may be, the principal characteristics that stand at the root of any civilization (and, therefore, of the present civilization) are those of cooperative, human-scale community itself. And those characteristics are, basically, the political, social, and cultural motives and practices of cooperation, interrelatedness, interdependence, non-competitiveness, true (or positive, rather than merely insipid) harmlessness, and positive (or ego-transcending, and other-serving, rather than merely self-negating) self-sacrifice - and, altogether (and most basically), those characteristics are the political, social, and cultural motives and practices of even all the virtues of self-transcendence (including tolerance, compassion, love, service, and self-discipline.

In the present globally expanded state of civilization, the principal sign of civilization itself is that it has, in the largest number of its sectors, effectively destroyed (or, at least, profoundly minimized) the root-motives, root-practices, and root-virtues of human life in its humanizing (or cooperative, human-scale community) mode - and, indeed, the principal sign of present-time civilization is, in general, that of the absence of cooperative, human-scale (and truly humanizing) community itself.

Therefore, civilization in its present global achievement, is profoundly dissociated from its roots in the relational (or non-separative) virtues and practices inherent in cooperative, human-scale community.

This situation is of course in an "advanced" form in the USA where the adolescent anti-"culture" of competitive individualism is (by far) the dominant paradigm (reinforced by the gun-"culture" and its violence saturated "entertainment".

Not to be outdone Daffy Duck distills the "progressive" mental disorder for us.
Last lines:
I think you'll find the "gun culture" and it's "entertainment" are all creations of the "progressives":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1SZurGArxE

Where do you people live. It sure can't be in the real world.

Both Russia & China starved millions with their socialist economies. People just won't put in enough work for the good of their neighbors or country, if they don't benefit to a greater extent themselves. Both economies failed. Those who day dream of socialism just refuse to recognise facts.

Both Russia & China have only managed to operate successfully by becoming market economies.

How many more failures will it take for you to finally realise it is a failed theory.

Even democracy has the seeds of it's own destruction. Over a period of time an increasing percentage of a democracy realise they can vote for a living, rather than work for it.

The mobs of Rome are an example, as is Europe today, where the lower levels of the society want more for less. The UK today has families where not a single member in 3 generations has ever held a job. Only a no work means no food policy would ever get these people back to work.

If democracies are bound for a slow erosion of the will to contribute, socialist countries do it at the gallop.

Jay

Do you know how I can get that 9 minutes of my time back - the 9 minutes I spent watching your YouTube link to a bunch of dudes running around doing a lot of shouty stuff and blowey-uppy stuff? (Well ... actually, it was more like 4 and a half minutes, as I did a fair bit of FF-ing.)

If there was a point in all of that, then it went right over my head, like the 100,000 or so bullets that ricocheted all over the film, and which probably cost about $50 each to make. No wonder we have to keep putting up the global aged-pension age - boys-will-be-boys wargames are damned expensive.

Judging by the 3,000 plus YouTube comments, reverently nitpicking the subtle nuances between this widow maker and that limb amputator and some other PTSD facilitator, this clip was obviously a sacred bonding experience for global dudery - no dames allowed (they just wouldn't understand).

Hasbeen

'Both Russia & China starved millions with their socialist economies'

Check out the famine histories of both Russia and China. There were heaps of famines in both countries (especially China) before that evil socialism got to them.

You might also like to check out the murky famine history of the British empire. Also, check out the current situation in Britain - More than 900,000 people were given emergency food in the past year, an increase of 163 per cent in just 12 months - a spectacularly shame-inducing situation that all but the most austerity-psychotic of delusional tragics are blaming on the British ruling class's war on welfare to fund austerity measures to bail out the global mess made by the catastrophic cabal of City of London banksters and international greed-geeks (aka capitalism).

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/churches-unite-to-act-on-food-poverty-600-leaders-from-all-denominations-demand-government-uturn-on-punitive-benefits-sanctions-9263035.html

Hasbeen, "Where do you people live. It sure can't be in the real world"

It is the Internet.

Don't be silly Killarney.

It is because in the now very socialist UK the yobos all know they can waste all their handout, then come back for a second & a third dip, at other peoples money.

The only thing that saved the place previously was north sea oil. Perhaps fracking can keep it going a little longer, but to save it, they will have to run out of other peoples money, & start to starve.

That would be the only thing that might get their bludgers working, but it is certainly not assured.