Civilization is the process in which one gradually increases the number of people included in the term 'we' or 'us' and at the same time decreases those labeled 'you' or 'them' until that category has no one left in it.
Source
Howard Winters, as quoted by Anne-Marie Cantwell, in "Howard Dalton Winters: In Memoriam." Unpublished paper, Midwest Archaeological Conference, Lexington, KY. 1994
An interesting discussion of this quote is available on the blogsite Autism Street.
