How to Destroy a Civilization
There are lots of ways to kill off a civilization. Wars, politics, economic collapse. But what are the actual mechanics? It might be a useful thing to know whether or not we are killing ourselves off.
Ancient Rome is a good place to start. They had an advanced civilization. They had running water, sewers, flush toilets, concrete, roads, bridges, dams, an international highway system, mechanical reapers, water-powered mills, public baths, soap, banking, commerce, free trade, a legal code, a court system, science, literature, and a republican system of government. And a strong army to enforce stability and peace (Pax Romana). It wasn’t perfect, but they were on their way to modernity.
One of my favorite quotes is from Marcus Tullius Cicero, statesman, orator and writer (106-43 BCE):
Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.
If that isn’t a mark of a civilized society I don’t know what is.
But Rome collapsed. I often wonder what would have happened if it hadn’t. Could we have avoided a thousand years of the Dark Ages. Could we have been flying airplanes and driving cars in the year 1000?
What the hell happened to Rome?
Dictators. After 500 years, the famous Roman Republic ended with the dictator Julius Caesar taking power. Four hundred years later his progeny and usurpers ran the Empire into the ground and Rome fell to invading barbarians.
Entire Article/Comments
https://mises.org/wire/how-destroy-civilization
How to Destroy a Civilization
Global news scene
Moderator: Super Moderators
Jump to
- ON THE AIR ~ AM/FM/XM RADIO
- ↳ Art Bell's Midnight in the Desert
- ↳ Art Bell Classic Shows & Somewhere in Time Chat
- ↳ Art Bell Archive
- ↳ Art Bell Archive 12-2001 to 5-2002
- ↳ Fantastic Forum 'Original Radio Room'
- ↳ Art Bell/The New Frontier
- ↳ Dreamland ~ Whitley Strieber
- ↳ George Noory/C2C AM Topics/Radio topics
- ↳ Ian Punnett/Saturday Host
- ↳ George Knapp/C2C Sunday Host
- ↳ John B. Wells Caravan To Midnight
- ↳ Ham Radio/DXing
- Ship's Galley
- ↳ FFPirates on Twitter
- ↳ Announcements/ FYI
- ↳ Rapa - from the Ship's Archives
- ↳ Ship's Galley ~ Fantastic Forum Community
- ↳ The Crow's Nest
- ↳ First Time Posters Thread
- ↳ Laugh a bit with Ole 68
- ↳ Garden & Galley
- The Starboard Tack
- ↳ UFO
- ↳ Quantum Physics/Edge Science
- ↳ Paranormal
- ↳ Ancient Archaeology
- ↳ John Lear Archive
- ↳ Conspiracies/Black Ops
- USA
- ↳ Economy
- ↳ Media Watch
- ↳ Energy Policy
- ↳ American Survival
- The Blue Planet...
- ↳ Awakening of global consciousness
- ↳ The Natural World
- ↳ News from a parallel universe
- ↳ Environment in Crisis
- ↳ All Creatures Great and Small
- NEWS BREAK
- ↳ Alt News Blog
- ↳ National
- ↳ Global
- ↳ Weird Nooz
- SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
- ↳ FF IT Tech
- ↳ Earth/ Weather/ Climate
- ↳ Health
- ↳ Astronomy/ NASA/Physics
- ↳ Technology
- ↳ Chemtrails
- ↳ The 10th Planet
- FANTASTIC PUB
- ↳ The Brig
- ↳ Politics and Government 2014 - Present
- ↳ Food
- ↳ The Murky Bilge
- ↳ Music
- ↳ Religion/Metaphysics
- ↳ Philosophy
- ↳ Books, Documentaries, Movies, TV Shows
- ↳ USS TEXAS - BB35 Archive
- ↳ Poetry Forum
- ↳ Pirates and Skeptics -P&G, etc
- ↳ Photography
- SETI @ home
- ↳ FANTASTIC FORUM ~ SETi Team
- ↳ Team Art Bell
- Archive
- ↳ Third Party Candidates - 2004
- ↳ USA Archive
- ↳ Various
- ↳ Who Needs eBay?
- ↳ Iraq
- ↳ Politics and Government 2010-2013
- ↳ MAD'S Mali Journal
- ↳ Wild Card Thread
- ↳ Bush/Cheney '04 Campaign
- ↳ William Henry ~ Stargates in the Age of Tara
- ↳ Hemp Industry
- ↳ We the People
- ↳ Politics and Government 2004-2009
- ↳ Lost Harbour & Dry Dock
- ↳ Fantastic Forum Productions
- ↳ Star Trek Forum
- ↳ USS TEXAS ~ BB 35 Restoration/Preservation Project
- ↳ Politics and Government Pre-2007
- ↳ Fantastic Forum - Editor's Cut