Given also that the society that elected the president-in-waiting is dominated by blind nationalism, trendy savior-worship, an unending ignorance of history, economics and philosophy and devoid of a critical thought process, I fear history will say of this moment, "the civilization of the modern world suffered final collapse."
''We seek him here, we seek him there, Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he in heaven? —Is he in hell? That demmed, elusive Pimpernel.''
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Preamble to Social Mayhem
From a piece by Tim Case
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That's a noteworthy article. I liked the list:
ReplyDelete1. Lack of Public Health which led to relatively short lives among the wealthy and debased living conditions among the lower classes and the poor.
2. A marked decline in the morals and ethics among all Roman social classes as witnessed by the gladiatorial games, rampant prostitution, gluttony of the ruling class and alcoholism among all classes.
3. Excessive government with its accompanying political corruption which can be demonstrated through the Roman state’s use of the frumentarii or the Roman secret service.
4. Excessive military spending with corresponding government projects and social programs which led, in due course, to inflation and then hyperinflation.
5. Inflation, price controls, and the state’s attempt to completely regulate the Roman economy destroyed manufacturing along with the empire’s agricultural base.
6. Inferior Technology
7. Civil war accompanied by external invasions.
The resemblance is uncanny. However, I would recommend Tainter's "Collapse of Complex Societies," which takes a very wide perspective.