Niall Ferguson: How American Civilization Can Avoid Collapse – The Daily Beast

My point is that when you look back on the history of past civilizations, a striking feature is the speed with which most of them collapsed, regardless of the cause.

The Roman Empire didn’t decline and fall sedately, as historians used to claim. It collapsed within a few decades in the early fifth century, …

The Ming dynasty’s rule in China also fell apart with extraordinary speed in the mid–17th century, …

A more recent and familiar example of precipitous decline is, of course, the collapse of the Soviet Union. …

What all these collapsed powers have in common is that the complex social systems that underpinned them suddenly ceased to function. One minute rulers had legitimacy in the eyes of their people; the next they didn’t.

Niall Ferguson: How American Civilization Can Avoid Collapse – The Daily Beast

1 Comments.

  1. All what you cited are all collapsed, none avoidable? If there is one not collapsed can it be cited by you that American would be the same as that one never collapsed?
    If you think there is none to avoid collapsed, can you make American not be collapsed to show how the great you are, or just let it be what it may be and only that way can make you more articles for you to continue narrative?
    You are always stand beside pessimism than that of optimisim. You should be look like skinny by being consumed too much in
    bitterness but why you are growing contrary to it?