Freud’s groundbreaking work Civilization and Its Discontents deals with the themes of civilization and the primitive side of an individual. Freud defines both these terms through his psychoanalytic theory. On one hand, we have civilization, which he defines as:

“The whole sum of the achievements and regulations which distinguish our lives from those of our animal ancestors…”

On the other hand, we have our primitive side, our instinctual desires. There is always a state of conflict between the standards of civilization and the demands of our primitive side. Most of the book focuses on how an individual is affected when they are not allowed to fulfill the desires of the unconscious mind. When an individual is forbidden from acting upon their instinctual urges, anxiety grows within them, giving birth to suffering. However, when one manages to achieve the goal of seeking pleasure or satisfying unconscious desires, they attain happiness.

According to Freud, “The liberty of the individual is no gift of civilization.” Whenever an individual does not get what they want, they become conscious of their individuality and begin to differentiate themselves from the external world. Freud gives the example of an infant, who, according to him, possesses only primitive or unconscious desires and has no trace of ego. An infant has no awareness of the external world, when hungry, it yearns for milk, and when the desire is not immediately fulfilled, it begins to create a line of demarcation between the external world and the self, leading to the development of the ego.

The last chapter of the book is dedicated to the concept of guilt and how it arises. In civilization, every individual must follow certain rules and regulations, as this is how society functions. If everyone started breaking those standards, civilization would no longer remain a civilization. When an individual fails to adhere to these standards, they feel useless, and their conscious mind develops a sense of guilt.

As individuals, we must maintain a healthy balance between the standards of civilization and our instinctual desires in order to escape anxiety and guilt. We should fulfill our responsibilities, which are the gifts of civilization, because, according to Aristotle, “Only a beast or a god can live without society.” Yet, while fulfilling these responsibilities, we must not surrender our liberty, for without it, we cannot live happily. A healthy individual is one who masters the art of balancing these two demands. He who fails to do so will suffer, either from anxiety or from guilt