I agree that those terms tend to be loaded, but I am referring to the literal meaning of “civilization,” i.e. ‘living in cities’ — more generally, culture dominated by the existence of cities. Non-civilized societies have indeed had ‘government’. They have had a ruler (usually with an advisory council of some kind). Certainly, the nature of those societies has meant that government would be ‘small’, but the threat of punishment for wrongdoing — even unto death — has been very real in them.