The civilization-barbarism axis also is deep-seated. Peter Turchin points out that in times of war, each side thinks that it is fighting against a barbaric race. With history written by the winners, we think of the Romans as representing civilization in their conflicts with outsiders. However, with a little reflection on Romans’ conduct (slavery, deadly gladiatorial combat), we can see that the case that they represented moral virtue against barbaric opponents is not so clear-cut.
