I recommend reading The Collapse of Complex Societies By Joseph Tainter directly; a lot of this article evidently comes from that book but the book presents the

I recommend reading The Collapse of Complex Societies By Joseph Tainter directly; a lot of this article evidently comes from that book but the book presents the arguments better. Its case studies are detailed and a great aid to the abstract concepts. It has an appendix discussing the situation of the US and Europe which concerns are still relevant. The book is a little dry but not long.