Civilizations expect the individuals and groups of which they are composed to preserve the status quo, work as disciplined members of an effective team and be satisfied with the outcome.  This brings us back to the goal with which we began this discussion of the collective goals of civilizations:  The primary task of any civilization is to survive.

Each individual human being, living and working in a civilized community occupies a sphere of action, enjoys the advantages and disadvantages and accepts the responsibilities and duties which pertain to his sphere.  Within his sphere the individual succeeds or fails in so far as he leads a rewarding personal life and contributes his share toward the collective life of the group to which she or he belongs.

If the individual in a civilized community is to live a good life, the first task is to maintain normal health, good spirits and a determination to get the most out of life and to contribute at least the equivalent of what he receives in service to his group.

As a civilization expands and extends its influence, the individual must contribute his mite to the entire enterprise while adding to his own store of goods and services.  Acquisition and accumulation satisfy a human desire to have and to keep.  They also add to the wealth and well being of the community on the widely accepted utilitarian formula:  happiness comes in direct proportion to the extent and variety of ones possessions.

In most civilized communities the building unit is a family.  It is this family unit, usually directed by a male or father figure, who acts for the family and represents it in the community.

In passing, the reader should note that the breakdown in family life now so prevalent in many parts of western civilization is a departure from the civilized norm.  It is really a measure of the extent to which western civilization itself is disintegrating.

The revolution in science and technology, mass production and the distribution of goods and services through a mass market have put acquisition and accumulation of goods and services as a life-goal to a severe test.  Until the early years of the present century no civilization had provided affluence for more than a small fraction of its population.  The vast majority consisted of slaves, serfs, war captives, and tenant farmers.  Only an exceptional few were in a position to live in comfort or luxury on unearned income.  As each civilization matured, ownership of land and capital diverted the flow of consumer goods and services into the coffers of a diminishing proportion of the total population.  The vast majority lived at or below the subsistence level.  General affluence was a goal that was talked about and dreamed about, but there was no way to test its practical effects on the population as a whole.

Under conditions presently existing in many parts of the West, millions of individuals and families following the utilitarian principles of acquisition and accumulation have secured and kept an abundance of goods and services in strict accordance with utilitarian principles.  Yet they have not been and are not happy.