Every society goes through the same problems. At its very simplest the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Society can only support a certain number of privileged people and at a certain point they start competing for resources and denying those same resources to the poor.
In 'Ages of Discord', based on 'big data', Dr. Peter Turchin charts the descent of the USA into the bottom half of the 'secular cycle' that all nations appear to go through. Here's a quote:
'Elite overproduction, the presence of more elites than the society can provide positions for, is inherently destabilizing. It reduces average elite incomes and increases intraelite competition/conflict because of large numbers of elite aspirants and counter-elites. Additionally, intraeltie competition drives up conspicuous consumption, which has an effect of inflating the level of income that is deemed to be necessary to maintain elite status. Competition also plays a role in the unraveling of social cooperation norms'
Every society goes through the same problems. At its very simplest the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Society can only support a certain number of privileged people and at a certain point they start competing for resources and denying those same resources to the poor.
In 'Ages of Discord', based on 'big data', Dr. Peter Turchin charts the descent of the USA into the bottom half of the 'secular cycle' that all nations appear to go through. Here's a quote:
'Elite overproduction, the presence of more elites than the society can provide positions for, is inherently destabilizing. It reduces average elite incomes and increases intraelite competition/conflict because of large numbers of elite aspirants and counter-elites. Additionally, intraeltie competition drives up conspicuous consumption, which has an effect of inflating the level of income that is deemed to be necessary to maintain elite status. Competition also plays a role in the unraveling of social cooperation norms'