Spot on. Rapid decline in key social, economic and political institutions is characteristic of the collapse of a major empire. This doesn't happen very often.
Historical sequence is the periphery goes down first followed by key allies and finally the core nation.
Everything we've seen confirms that classic sequence is playing out, once again. It's a process that has occurred across the world for at least the past 2,500 yrs.
The overarching importance of this big picture thesis is why I first posted a brief book list of source material in December 2007 well before the financial crash the following year. My hope was that anyone who wanted to familiarize themselves with some of the best research on the collapse process could do so. .
| To: Cactus Jack who wrote (64600) | 12/26/2007 12:21:02 PM | | From: isopatch | 1 Recommendation Read Replies (3) of 92859 | | | Hi Jack. Here R some of the books that've helped me develop a better understanding of the factors that brought us to where we R now and where we're likely to go in the coming years, in light of prior civilizations, nations, and groups that have been faced with rapid decline:
The Collapse of Complex Societies, by Joseph A. Tainter. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1988.
From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the present, 500 years of Western Cultural Life. Jacques Barzun. Harper Collins, 2000.
Conquest and Cultures. An International History, by Thomas Sowell. Basic Books, 2007
The Fall of the Roman Empire, by Peter Heather. Oxford Univ Press, 2006.
The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History. David Hackett Fischer. Oxford Univ. Press, 1996.
The Power of Gold. The History of an Obsession, by Peter L. Bernstein. John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
The Early Church, by Henry Chadwick. 1967. revised ed. pub by Penguin, 1993.
A History of the Middle Ages, by Joseph Dahmus. 1968. 1995 ed. pub by Barnes & Noble. The entire book is a good read. But, the first 1/3 does an excellent job of covering important economic and social changes that developed during the Decline and Fall of the Rome Empire I've not seen elsewhere.
Who's Who in the Middle Ages. John Fines, 1970. 1995 ed. pub by Barnes & Noble.
The Hundred Years War. The English in France, 1337-1453. Desmond Seward. 1978.
A History of Venice. John Julius Norwich, 1982. Vintage Books ed. pub 1989.
The Decline & Fall of the Ottoman Empire, by Alan Palmer. 1992. Barnes & Noble ed. pub in 1994.
The Assassins. The Story Of Medieval Islam's Secret Sect, by W.B. Bartlett. Sutton Publishing, 2001.
Warlords: Ancient, Celtic & Medieval, by Tim Newark. Arms & Armour Press, 1996
The Mongol Warlords, by David Nicolle. 1990. 1998 ed. pub by Brockhampton Press.
Currently reading: Modern Times. The World From The Twenties To The Nineties. Paul Johnson. 1983. 1992 ed. pub by Perennial Classics.
There R a lot of other books, I've read, that bear upon the big picture. I've left out the art historical and philosophical books because the above list is already too long. And, of course, there R also political works that I've not included because political partisanship is banned on NRS.
Isopatch>
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Transition from the British to the U.S. Empire was eased by by common language and culture in the mid-20th Century. Even with such unusually favorable conditions, we went thru the "Great Depression" and two world wars to complete the passing of the imperial baton to America.
As is becoming increasingly obvious, to everyone, by this time, the end of the current empire will be "more difficult".
Have to leave it at that and log off.
Lots of work on big garden and our small orchard, today. Weather's been great lately. Almost ideal growing conditions.
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