barbarism

Barbarism is a term used to describe conduct, cultures, or peoples considered uncivilized or lacking refinement by those who wield the label. In classical antiquity, barbarians were typically non-Greek (or non-Roman) speakers; the term carried a pejorative sense tied to differences in language, customs, and political organization. The etymology traces to Greek barbaros meaning foreign, and to Latin barbarus, conveying otherness.

In European thought from the Renaissance through the colonial era, barbarism and civilization became a dichotomy used to justify expansion and the purported mission to “civilize” distant peoples. Anthropological and historical narratives often linked progress to the transformation of political organization, writing, and technology, and regarded societies without these features as barbaric. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, some writers framed culture as evolving along a ladder with barbarism preceding civilization; such schemes have been criticized for ethnocentrism and racism.

Today the term is widely regarded as Eurocentric and loaded, and many scholars prefer neutral descriptors of social forms instead of ranking societies as barbaric. In common usage, barbarism can denote acts of cruel or inhumane conduct, such as war crimes, rather than a characteristic of entire peoples. The word persists in literature and political rhetoric as a powerful rhetorical device, yet its application is contested and often debated.