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Yeah but here’s the thing: when the elites of society are allowed to cannibalize the rest, becoming more and more disconnected as things become more and more un

Yeah but here’s the thing: when the elites of society are allowed to cannibalize the rest, becoming more and more disconnected as things become more and more unequal, and those in charge no longer have the best interests of the public at heart, it’s a sign of imminent societal collapse. Sometimes it takes a long time. But based on your statement, the people with the money don’t appear to have any reason to care about the suffering they inflict. That’s late stage decay. Roman Empire stuff. At the very end the social contract unravels and the economy collapses. shame is basically the way a culture punishes antisocial behavior. If shaming no longer works, that’s one less tool of self regulation the culture has. Thats not a good thing.

pessimizer 3y ago
> when the elites of society are allowed to cannibalize the rest, becoming more and more disconnected as things become more and more unequal, and those in charge no longer have the best interests of the public at heart, it’s a sign of imminent societal collapse. Pretty sure this is made up. We've had stable societies governed by kings and queens over a population of serfs. I would say that the rise of discussions about the distance between rich and poor becoming popular and commonplace at every level, and organization/civil disorder/brutal crackdowns around that, tend to lead to Caesars and Napoleons. Republics transform into dictatorships at that point by necessity. Because after a long period of chaos and death, both the rich and the poor want a strongman to deliver them from a period of uncertainty into a period of prosperity.
- fallingfrog 3y ago
  But, the medieval world was the result after the collapse occurred. In the early republic you had a lot of citizen farmers, by the end the land was all owned by a small number of ultra wealthy patricians and the rest were slaves. And as the collapse happened the estates of the wealthy Romans led directly into the walled feudal estates. So you’re kind of proving my point. It was a fragmented and disconnected world, without the long distance commerce and bonds that make for a higher level of civilization. Slowly as people escaped into the cities, longer connections knit themselves back together and the feudal age gave way, things began moving forward again. And “discussions of rich and poor” don’t happen in a vacuum, they occur in response to some real problem. People do flock to strongman dictators in times of crisis, it’s true. They follow anyone who promises them safety and a return to the Good Old Days. Caesar I’m sure promised to Make Rome Great Again.

pessimizer 3y ago

> when the elites of society are allowed to cannibalize the rest, becoming more and more disconnected as things become more and more unequal, and those in charge no longer have the best interests of the public at heart, it’s a sign of imminent societal collapse. Pretty sure this is made up. We've had stable societies governed by kings and queens over a population of serfs. I would say that the rise of discussions about the distance between rich and poor becoming popular and commonplace at every level, and organization/civil disorder/brutal crackdowns around that, tend to lead to Caesars and Napoleons. Republics transform into dictatorships at that point by necessity. Because after a long period of chaos and death, both the rich and the poor want a strongman to deliver them from a period of uncertainty into a period of prosperity.

fallingfrog 3y ago
But, the medieval world was the result after the collapse occurred. In the early republic you had a lot of citizen farmers, by the end the land was all owned by a small number of ultra wealthy patricians and the rest were slaves. And as the collapse happened the estates of the wealthy Romans led directly into the walled feudal estates. So you’re kind of proving my point. It was a fragmented and disconnected world, without the long distance commerce and bonds that make for a higher level of civilization. Slowly as people escaped into the cities, longer connections knit themselves back together and the feudal age gave way, things began moving forward again. And “discussions of rich and poor” don’t happen in a vacuum, they occur in response to some real problem. People do flock to strongman dictators in times of crisis, it’s true. They follow anyone who promises them safety and a return to the Good Old Days. Caesar I’m sure promised to Make Rome Great Again.