Culture and Civilization ; Two Friends or Two Foes?

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Within the past 20-40 years, there has been a boost in world civilisation and modernisation due to the vast technologies being discovered and created. We have witnessed the creation of super computers, the Internet, 3G, 4G and now 5G networks, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and visual reality, and then the blockchain which cryptocurrency operate on. With the introduction of these numerous technologies including those not listed above, we have witnessed the human lifestyle evolve across all parts of the world. During this time some have become more civilised than others. Let's see how culture plays a role to people's adaptation to new and modernised lifestyle.

What is Culture?

Culture is basically all aspect of the lifestyle of a group of people or a person. It encompasses their beliefs, arts, laws, language, customs and traditions. These cultures have been passed down generation. Africa alone is said to have about 3000 different cultures.

What is Civilisation?

It is said to be the advancement in the social lifestyle of people. You can also say civilisation is the advancement in people's culture.

HOW ARE EXISTING CULTURES COPING WITH CIVILISATION

There is a common classification of countries into the first world, second world and third world countries which refer to their level of modernisation, industrialisation and civilisation (Although it was initially used in the first world war to classify countries that aligned with the NATO and opposed the Soviet Union). The third world countries are considered to be the least developed and civilised countries. Its a sad reality that most of these countries whom their cultures have contributed to slowing down their rates of development.
Remember when I mentioned Africa as a continent with about 3000 different cultures, its no coincidence that the 3rd world countries include mostly African countries. This is not to say that Africans alone are victims effects of existing cultures against civilisation.

Some Negative Effects of Culture On Civilisation

Terrorism
Lot's of terrorist groups today now are against some modern lifestyle which the modern world have accepted. Let's take Bomo Hara, a terrorist group in West Africa who are against western education. This might sound crazy to you but somehow they belief Western education is evil. Civilisation and modernisation is dependent upon education. An illiterate won't be able to use the Internet. Take a second to imagine yourself living a lifetime without the Internet in this modern world.

Gender Inequality
In today's modern world, we have women of power, women with high social and political presence who have proven that women too are equally capable to hold high social positions. Most ancient history held little regards for Women. Some cultures hold it that men should always be above women. This is still very evident when you look at people in power all over the world. We have a very low ratio of women in power when compared to that of men. This has brought about the social movement called Feminism which aims to achieve equity between all sexes.

Child Marriage
Today, the minimum age for a girl to get married is 18 years. A girl could also get married at age 17 with the consent of one of her parents. There are cultures today which supports marrying off girls of ages as low as 12 years in the name of being betrothed to a person, especially to people of high social class. In a civilised environment, people like that would be considered pedophiles and will face the wrath of the law.

Some Positives To Take From Cultural Preservation

Our cultures remind us of who we are and where we come from. Some of these practices have existed for hundreds of year and we cannot just do away with them. They are unwritten histories which will be passed down to generations after us. But we should focus on the positive aspects of out culture. Those aspects that could easily fuse with modern world. Our languages, dress code, some cool festivals that does not involve human sacrifices, the food we eat and even the games we play. None of these would have a negative effect on civilisation.