Author(s)

Frederick Betz^1,2

¹SUNY Korea, Incheon, South Korea.
²Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA.

The usefulness of a theoretical metric for civilization is that it can help to identify the kinds of progress which society can make that is universalized for all humanity. Societal systems perform the functions which provide the values and performance of the society, and wherein societal problems occur. In the concept of the level of “civilization” of a society, four kinds of measures can assess the progress of a society in attaining universalized values: Truth, Good, Beautiful, and Wealth. The value of Truth in our civilization is methodologically investigated by science. The value of Good in our civilization is politically pursued through democracy. The value of Beautiful in our civilization is seen in the preservation of the environment of the Earth. The value of Wealth in our civilization is generated through industrialization of societal production. We apply the theory to the historical case of the International Court of Justice and Yugoslav War Crimes to examine empirical evidence about the validity of a theoretical metric.

Cross-Cultural Studies, Civilization, Societal Metrics, Cross-Disciplinary Social Theory

Betz, F. (2019) Theoretical Metric of Civilization: The Case of the International Court of Justice. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 1-20. doi: 10.4236/jss.2019.71001.