This video is a good summary of Joseph Tainter's work on civilizational collapse, which I've mentioned or discussed many times, as well as Tainter's thoughts on how civilizations have avoided collapse. In the latter regard, the video examines the case of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire which not only carried on after the collapse of the Western half of the Empire, but actually thrived a number of centuries. The video attributes this to the Byzantine Empire actually rolling back the build up of complexity. I would add that it is this--the rolling back of complexity in the form of massive cuts to the size of government and the amount of government regulation--that Trump has promised and which the bureaucratic state opposes. The other way to avoid collapse mentioned in the video is a massive influx of "energy" that can support the existing complexity, such as happened after the discovery of the New World or came with the industrial revolution.
VIDEO: "Is Collapse Inevitable?"
Dig. (11 min.)
(And they had mountains of gold)
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