{"product_id":"the-evolution-of-civilizations-an-introduction-to-historical-analysis-9780913966570","title":"The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis","description":"\u003cp\u003eCarroll Quigley was a legendary teacher at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service. His course on the history of civilization was extraordinary in its scope and in its impact on students.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLike the course, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Evolution of Civilizations\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is a comprehensive and perceptive look at the factors behind the rise and fall of civilizations. Quigley examines the application of scientific method to the social sciences, then establishes his historical hypotheses. He poses a division of culture into six levels from the abstract to the more concrete. He then tests those hypotheses by a detailed analysis of five major civilizations: the Mesopotamian, the Canaanite, the Minoan, the classical, and the Western.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuigley defines a civilization as \"a producing society with an instrument of expansion.\" A civilization's decline is not inevitable but occurs when its \u003cem\u003einstrument\u003c\/em\u003e of expansion is transformed into an \u003cem\u003einstitution\u003c\/em\u003e--that is, when social arrangements that meet real social needs are transformed into social institutions serving their own purposes regardless of real social needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Liberty Fund","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50621914939666,"sku":"9780913966570","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_39aaefec-89e6-47ad-9983-84518d7baae8.jpg?v=1732585809","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-evolution-of-civilizations-an-introduction-to-historical-analysis-9780913966570","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}