I don't strictly disagree with you, but I dislike the pendulum model for the same reason I dislike modeling history/future as linear. Society can regress, it ca

I don't strictly disagree with you, but I dislike the pendulum model for the same reason I dislike modeling history/future as linear. Society can regress, it can progress, it can do both in different areas. It can be reactionary, but it can also way too far for a hundred or more years. Maoist China was not by itself reactionary or linear, but a totaling force. The Dang era that followed changed some essential aspects, but even that has been reversing under Xe. Each component in life must be modeled by itself. Societies can and have destroyed themselves. There are real better and worse ways of living.