When a crisis, whatever its nature may be, political, economic, or religious, puts a nation in a grave situation, or she faces an external dangers and finds her existence in question, then in response to it, she calls people to unite on the basis of common identity. Not only this but she creates a negative image of her enemy in order to involve people emotionally to fight and struggle for their survival. Generally, the division is on the basis of cultural and civilization values. Which creates a difference between ‘ us ‘ and ‘ them’ this division inspires people to defend their higher values and fight against those who oppose or challenge them.

The division also gives a moral justification to those nations who consider themselves civilizationally superior to conquer and subjugate the inferior races in the name of civilization. In the past these two trends caused the emergence of colonialism, imperialism, and racism. The European colonialism was based on the  ‘mission of civilization’ or what Kipling says ‘ white man’s burden’ to civilized uncultured and barbarians and bring them to the fold of civilized world i.e. Europe.

The concept of superiority of white race was culminated in such theories as Fascism and Nazism, which believing in the theory of Lebensraum (space for living) started a campaign to eliminate the inferior races and occupying their territories because “their low productivity and potential gave them no natural right.” Hitler says that:” every healthy, vigorious people sees nothing sinful in territorial acquisition, but something quite keeping with its nature”.

Keeping in view these concepts, we would like see and analyze what happened in past and how this dichotomy worked in the process of history Greeks were the first who, as a result of the Persian invasions, discovered their identity and created the distinction between them and the Persian whom they called barbarians The word barbarian ‘means an individual who cannot express well and stammers. It was a common expression among some nations to distinguish them from others. For example, the Arabs called the non-Arabs as Ajami i.e. barbarian or dumb.

Herodotus, in his narratives of Greeks and Persian conflict, describes it a conflict between the Greek liberty and Persian despotism: Two antithetical systems that produced two different societies and two different values. The Greeks were proud of their democracy and liberty (which excluded the slaves and non-Greeks) art, literature and theatres that made them civilizationally superior to other nations. The image of barbarians on the other hand was of people who were involved in all sorts of crimes and horrors. Not only Persians but also the Greeks’ neighbourers were also regarded as barbarians because they (the Greek) wanted to occupy their land and subjugate them in order to acquire their natural resources. Therefore, it was logical to dehumanize them in order to massacre them and occupy their territories.

The Greek attitude of isolation was changed as a result of Alexander’s conquests when new countries and people came under their rule. Now, the policy was to ‘Hellenize’ the barbarians and incorporate them to the Greek culture and civilization. Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander, advised him not to adopt this policy because ‘the other ‘ was like plants and animals. However, Alexander disagreed with his teacher’s advice and followed the policy of assimilation that was political need to rule the conquered countries.

However, the crux of the policy was to force and compel the vanquished to integrate with the Greek culture and abrogate their own identities. It was universalization of the Greek civilization.

The Romans, inherited the division of the world as civilized and barbarian in building of their Empire. The called their own world as an Empire and the rest as barbarians. Pliny points out that Europe was the center of best race that had conquered all nations and established its political domination. To the Romans, however, there were also European barbarians such as Celts. German tribes and Goths who resisted their hegemony and fought against them. Their refusal to come under their control put them in the category of barbarians.

The concept was further broadened when there were rebellions of peasants within the Roman Empire; it shocked the ruling classes who regarded these rebellions as destabilizing factor for their political system. The peasants were contemptuously treated as couth, subhuman, and uncultured creature; and subsequently. their rebellions were ruthlessly crushed. However, this phenomenon gave them a realization that the internal and external barbarians were threats not only to the Empire but also to the power and privileges of the ruling classes. Therefore , the bogy of barbarians was also needed to maintain the unity and rule of the elite. A poet beautifully depicts it in these words : “ What will become of us now, bereft of barbarians? It has to be recognized that those fellows were the solution to a problem.”

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries as a result of ‘discoveries’ of new lands, the European encountered different people in the Americas, Newziland, and Aurtralia.Their immediate impression was that these people were still in the early stage of civilization, therefore ,they were called as savages. The first image of these people was that they were children of nature and as such innocent, humble, gentle and sociable. Rousseau was kind enough to call them as ‘ noble savage’. To study them and their customs and rituals, a new discipline of Anthropology was formulated..Camparing to Europeans, it was said that these people were in the early stage of human civilization which the Europeans had already passed and reached to the maturity. The dichotomy of civilized and savage provided a moral justification to control them and to occupy their territories by means of force and deceit.

The image of innocent savages soon changed when the Europeans needed their lands. A process of dehumanizing began that transformed them as fierce, uncultured, and cannibals. To subdue and eliminate them became lawful because they were dangerous to the settlers and their values. In North America a campaign was launched against the Red Indian from 1860 to the massacre of Sioux at Wounded Knee in 1890.The local population both in the South and North Americas were systematically were wiped out by deceit, fraud, and violence. The same process happened in Australia. In the words of Josep Fontana:” Australians were held  to be a barbarous and ignorant race destined for an extinction which the European settlers speeded up by killing them without scruple. Afterwards, much reduced in numbers and defenseless, they were simply forgotten; were not fierce cannibals, or noble savages, but merely ‘aboriginals’.”

During colonizing period the Asian and African countries economically and politically suffered. Their natural resources were exploited by the colonial powers and the wealth was looted and plundered which made them economically backward. The industrialization of Europe further accelerated the process of their backwardness. The result was that even the desalinization did not change their economic and political condition. Now, new terms were used to distinguish Europe and the Rest of the world. In the beginning the terms under-developed and developed were used to differentiate West and the East. Later on, finding it derogatory, the new term  developing and developed has been used,. however, mere change of terms failed to eliminate the uneven difference. The deep-rooted historical prejudices and division remain in the collective memory of Europeans and Americans.

Although, attempts were made to make the difference respectable by using the terms of  North and South but it also could not bring the two together. The image of economic backwardness failed to give respectable status to the Asian and African countries in the ideological division, the term of Third World which signifies non-aligned character, also becomes equaling to backwardness.

 Recently, George Bush address to the nations that ‘either you are with us or with terrorists’ echoes the old concept of barbarians and savages. Terrorism has now replaced them and divided the world as civilized and terrorists. The process of globalization is modern Hellenization: that means either come to the fold of western civilization or are ready for elimination like Red Indians, Moirés, and Australian aborigines.