From: "Carrol Cox" <[log in to unmask]>

> Peter Montgomery wrote:
> > 
> > Indeed civilisation is a city thing,
> 
> My point was that the word's senses  had never been limitedd to this
> etymological sense, but in fact had been a (false)a cluster of
> 'equations' ideolgoically and moralistically edged from the beginning. 

And you didn't see the relevance of my comment about agendas?

> No. Much later than the orginal Cities.

What you are calling cities here were fortified tribal encampments,
not open for commerce. Definitely not civilised.

> I s it literacy if it is used for _nothing_ besides records (and records
> of  tribute, not commerce).

Literacy is a matter of  semiotics not content.

I realise there are lots of perspectives on this matter, which
are really hard to discuss unless one has a lot of background.
I prefer the perspectives of Eric Havelock, (Preace to Plato)
and McLuhan's Gutenberg Galaxy.

P.