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that helps give meaning to a “civilization” is in full retreat. Our insti-

The Wizards of
W... Civilization—the American version in particular—is in a A
very turbulent and, perhaps terminal condition. The sense of civility

tutionalized social behavior has reverted to its reactive, reptilian ¥

origins; our thinking has become dominated by the political impera- a — ;
2 eT Reflections on the De: clin

tive that all of life is to be subjected to the exercise of collective

power. Our present condition is beyond institutional repair, and civili- 0 MN
zation has run out of “solutions” to the problems it has created and — N

is now in a state of collapse.

Civilizations are created by individuals, and are destroyed by collectives.
Is it possible to reverse the collectivizing practices that dehumanize
people and destroy civilizations? If our culture is to avoid the self-
destructive consequences of our well-organized madness, we must
learn how to decentralize the systems by which we organize our-
selves. In the process of doing so, we may be able to generate a new
civilization premised on enhancing the lives of people rather than the
interests of institutions.

Butler Shaffer is a professor at Southwestern University Law School in
Los Angeles. A graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, he
is the author of the books Calculated Chaos: Institutional Threats to
Peace and Human Survival; In Restraint of Trade: The Business
Campaign Against Competition, 1918-1938; and Boundaries of
Order: Private Property as a Social System.

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