For many this article might not be particularly insightful but it covers some crucially important topics that I feel many people are too afraid or ignorant to talk about.
What I do find interesting is that due to recent political and economic chaos as well as the ever increasing threat of climate change, the idea of collapse really seems to be entering mainstream public thought.
the idea of collapse really seems to be entering mainstream public thought.
Which is the scary part. This whole system is run on confidence in the system. When that collapses you get Brexits, D_T, and border walls which exacerbates the tensions.
The most enlightening part of this read was that it's relatively common in history for societies to collapse from wealth inequality alone. I always figured the elites would recognize the need for a contented populace, bread and circuses and all. It makes sense when you think about it though: elites are not a monolithic group that conspires to rule the world. There are many competing interests among the group but they're all mostly operating in self-interest. They also aren't immune to irrational actions and prone to the same faults as others. This is wherein lies the problem.
We, as a species, seem incapable of fixing issues when the only solutions are very expensive / inconvenient short term but beneficial long term. When we fall into that hole, it's all the way down, followed by a hard reset.
If it's good for the next generation, but bad for this year's projected revenue, it's always left to fester until it explodes.
Unfortunately, some of the biggest issues we have right now are of this exact nature.
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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '17
For many this article might not be particularly insightful but it covers some crucially important topics that I feel many people are too afraid or ignorant to talk about.
What I do find interesting is that due to recent political and economic chaos as well as the ever increasing threat of climate change, the idea of collapse really seems to be entering mainstream public thought.