Abstract：Abstract: As a writer who has been assimilated by British literary criterion and western values, V·S·Naipaul’s viewpoints on the Third World and a universal civilization have been controversially criticized. Based on Naipaul's works on the pre-colonies, the Third World and his lecture on a universal civilization in 1990, this paper focuses its analysis on the two controversial problems mentioned above. It is found that it is the aid from the former British colonialism that helped him escape the inappreciable Trinidad and make his dream of being a writer in the center of world come true. In view of his distinctive experience, Naipaul decried some of the non-western civilizations and advocated a universal one based on the contemporary British civilization. Also, Naipaul uttered some words that seemed politically incorrect mainly because of his independent perspective of observation and a powerful sense of mission. Meanwhile, with the development of his thoughts, some of Naipaul’s radical standpoints about the Third World, Africa and even Islam are also undergoing changes or modification.
Key words: V. S. Naipaul; post-colonial; politics; the third-world; a universal civilization
