The Civilization Theory of Norbert Elias Today

In The Civilizing Process: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations (1939) Norbert Elias formulated a theory to explain the long-term process of continuous change that led to the emergence of modern society. His theory encompasses both the development of human personality structures and behaviour (psychogenetic research) and the development of the social structures of inequality, power, and order (sociogenetic research). Violence and its control are central themes of the theory of the civilizing process. On the question of why the de-civilization processes occur, Elias failed to answer satisfactorily. For his students and followers this omission is a motivation to consider furthering Elias’s thinking.