> When societies start to contract people start trying to get control of as much of the shrinking pie as possible and the people least able or with the least po

> When societies start to contract people start trying to get control of as much of the shrinking pie as possible and the people least able or with the least power struggle the least. As right as you are, contraction is inevitable. Even if colonize space, it is not going to happen in any significant scale the next 100 years. So, maybe we are doomed because people in power will always want more power and that creates a downwards spiral for non-growing societies. Maybe that is the "great filter" that await for us. I believe that societies will accommodate for the new situation. Not only Americans, but humans, always do the right thing after trying everything else.