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The Fate of Empires (1978) [pdf]
- mikhailfranco 7y agoOn the arrogance and hubris of elites ... XX The inadequacy of intellect Perhaps the most dangerous by-product of the Age of Intellect is the unconscious growth of the idea that the human brain can solve the problems of the world. On the deterioration of political discourse ... XXI Civil dissensions Another remarkable and unexpected symptom of national decline is the intensification of internal political hatreds.
- mikhailfranco 7y agoGlubb's theory of the arc of empires is strongly influenced by Toynbee's A Study of History, which was in turn informed by the 20th century zeitgeist of historicism (a belief in recurring patterns of history), initiated by Marx, refuted by Popper, but ultimately going back to Ibn Khaldun's Muqaddimah. Strauss and Howe's Fourth Turning follows in this tradition.