The TRIPS Agreement as a Standard of Civilization?

Abstract: The concept of a standard of civilization evolved in wake of the European colonial expansion, dividing societies by various shades of ?civilization?, which essentially referred to the level of European resemblance. Whereas that classical standard of civilization is obsolete, the phenomenon might still be occurring under different labels but with similar traits. In this thesis, I derive a set of abstract criteria from previous research which typically designate a standard of civilization: 1) A normative benchmark formulated according to the domestic custom; 2) One-track universalism and the myth of progress; 3) A quest for rationalist legitimacy; 4) Codification (transformation into legislation) and/or institutionalization; 5) A position of hegemonic power. Applying these criteria on the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, I conclude that it displays interesting similarities with a standard of civilization, the main difference being the dubiousness with which criteria 1) and 3) interact in this particular case; this is probably due to the both contending views on the justification of intellectual property rights.