The definition of ethnocentrism is 'a habitual disposition to judge foreign peoples or groups by the standards and practices of one's own culture or ethnic group'.

Unexamined ethnocentrism can damage perceptions when dealing with world history. The current power of Western standards makes ethnocentrism an issue today. Controlling ethnocentrism requires an open-minded attitude towards other cultures. Perspective on our own habits, including awareness of how other cultures might judge us, help prevent the development of a corrupt view of history.

The second major shift in Western ideas about civilization began at the end of the 18th century. The form of human organization and cultural expression was increasingly linked to what was believed to be the innate abilities of each human race. Most European writers argued that some races were more capable of building civilizations than others. And of course, the white Europeans authors considered their race to be the most capable of all.

These perceptions had a larger impact than just intellectual thought, however. They were used to justify European imperialist expansion, which was perceived as a mission to civilize and aid the barbaric and savage people across the globe. In the last half of the 19th century essentially all non-Western people came to be dominated by the Europeans.

By the 20th century these beliefs had been discarded. One of the reasons these ideas have failed is because racists cannot provide convincing evidence of the differences mentally and physically between the various human races.

Much ethnocentrism remains in the ways social theorists determine who is civilized and who is not. All people are capable of building civilizations, but have lacked either the resources, circumstances, or desire to do so.