Freud and Mazlish on Civilization

In this week's individual webbog post I am eager to learn of your interpretations and/or readings of civilization as this phenomenon is understood by Mazlish and Freud. There are key differences between these two figures as well as significant similarities, so make it your goal to offer meaningful reflection on what they have to say about the advantages and disadvantages offered by the historic invention of this key concept. Both men convey distinct concerns about civilization and its implications for the modern quest for individual liberty and self-flourishing and in the course of our reading of their critiques of civilization we learn much about the complex, intertwined history of self and its other.