In our previous article, we examined why maritime civilizations, despite being attempted multiple times throughout human history, ultimately remained “unfinished."

It was not because a maritime civilization was impossible, but because the very prerequisites to support it were not yet present on the part of humanity.

However, that premise is now quietly and decisively beginning to change. What matters is not merely the advancement of individual technologies, but that the very conditions for civilization's existence are beginning to shift, breaking free from the fixed notion of “land-

based confinement.”

Why has Civilization been Fixed to The Land？

Human civilization has invariably been built on land. This is not merely because the ground is stable. It is because all the elements necessary for civilization—energy, water, food, living space, and social structures—could only be sustained on the “fixed foundation” of land.

Civilization was, in essence, a structure premised on “fixity.”

Cities remained immobile, nations held territories, and societies were divided by boundaries. This very “fixedness” was the condition that sustained the stability of civilization. The sea remained an external space beyond civilization; one could pass through it, but never settle there.

On the other hand, the sea is an entity that remains perpetually fluid. It has no boundaries, no fixed shape, and never stays in the same state. The reason civilization could not transition to the sea was not so much because the sea was harsh, but because our civilization itself was not designed to accommodate “fluidity.”

What is Happening in The Modern Era is a “Change in The Underlying Assumptions.”

What is occurring in the modern era is not merely an accumulation of technological innovations, but a fundamental paradigm shift: humanity's method of sustaining civilization is beginning to transition from “dependence on specific locations” to “maintaining functionality.”

Civilization once could only exist by being rooted in a specific land. But now, the essence of

civilization is shifting from “where it is located” to “whether its necessary functions are

maintained.”

・Communication: Physical distance constraints have disappeared, enabling society to be formed regardless of location.

・ Energy: We are shifting from dependence on large power plants toward distributed, reconfigurable supply.

・Resource Supply: We are beginning to move away from reliance on single locations, toward securing resources through circulation and reconfiguration.

This signifies that civilization is transitioning from a stage where it is established by “place” to one where it is established by “structure,” and this change is profoundly fundamental.

Because it signifies that civilization has begun to possess the potential to liberate itself from the sole premise of a “fixed earth.”

The Sea is No Longer The “Outside” for Civilization.

This is not an expansion, but a transformation of the very geography of civilization.

Until now, the sea has been nothing more than a “distance to be crossed,” a “source of resources,” or a ‘threat’ lying beyond civilization. But when civilization is liberated from the fixed nature of place, the sea ceases to exist outside civilization. The sea transforms into a “new foundation” upon which civilization can be established.

What is important here is not the idea that civilization “expanded” into the sea. Rather, we should understand that as the conditions for civilization's establishment changed, the sea naturally became incorporated into the domain of civilization.

Marine Civilization is not a Future Ideal, but a Reality that has Begun to Emerge.

Marine civilization is not a distant dream of the future. It already lies along the extension of the new stage humanity is reaching.

Civilization was born along the banks of rivers and eventually spread across the land. Its expansion proceeded by acquiring new foundations whenever the conditions for civilization's establishment changed.

And now, humanity once again finds itself in the midst of what could be called a turning point: a shift in the conditions for its very existence. Maritime civilization is not a leap into the unknown, but rather the very process by which civilization, as the outcome of its internal evolution, transitions to its next foundation.

The Stance of Humanity that is Questioned.

We often tend to view maritime civilization as “advancing into new places.” But that is not its essence. The question is not “where humanity is going,” but “toward what kind of civilization we are transitioning.”

・ From a civilization dependent on “fixed land” to one that continually adapts to its environment.

・From a civilization that “divides” at boundaries to one that is mutually “connected.”

・From a civilization that “conquers” nature to one that “coexists” with it.

Marine civilization is not merely about constructing structures upon the sea. It is humanity's attempt to reexamine the very foundations of civilization itself and reposition itself within a new relationship.

We now stand at the threshold of that transition.

It may not only mean that technology made it possible, but also that humanity has reached a point where it can choose the next stage of civilization for the first time.