Oddbean new post about login | logout Looking at history, when an empire falls, it is a slow and terrible descent into really awful times. I think this is the stage we are currently in.
Do you know of any good books regarding the topic of falling empires?
#asknostr Let's get a good few answers to this. nostr:nevent1qqsqxqgpxu850ts4llcwhh27axd70ty5q4z6k8pnlf8wxh8xmj0ej4qprfmhxue69uh4g6r9gehhyetnwshxummnw3erztnrdaksygre6s6pw6myw3wj0y70xpljp9n7y7gjn98kaqtr9hscmgcsdsktkspsgqqqqqqsvl3lnr
No answer here, but this got me seriously intrigued at first.👀😆 https://image.nostr.build/a1336e6bc40c9ca3a665c8cfdd05eafb68422be748c62010055e8fbb97d95ffe.jpg
It's a decent start. Also, some Empires take hundreds of years to fall - see The Roman Empire. https://fallofcivilizationspodcast.com/
Nice to see people interested in the learning process. What I've liked about the Fall of Civilizations Pod is that it offers a rare real-time perspective of the living while they were collapsing. It's entry level stuff, but it's a start. nostr:nevent1qqsytyeauka2jahnrsdvgmhqw6wtf3jmyalccwgsglu7yn9memq23wgppamhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5pzp077yffgxvqumamxcjt8wthpu0vxfnn29vnz4xju3733g3k8hrwzqvzqqqqqqy6m62pk
I'm sure there are books that cover the descent of nations/civilizations broadly, but the only books I know of cover one descent in its entirety. There is a whole subreddit covering societal collapse, take it with a grain of salt since it is Reddit. Here is a link to their book list: https://collapsewiki.wpenginepowered.com/media/#books
Wow, that’s great. Thanks
The only problem is that most of the book summaries, from a brisk skimming, are following a Malthusian Ecological collapse. Something that might interest you: The Ethics of Money Production by Jörg Guido Hülsmann https://mises.org/library/book/ethics-money-production Forty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls: How Not to Fight Inflation https://mises.org/library/book/forty-centuries-wage-and-price-controls-how-not-fight-inflation
I guess now I’ll have some reading to do 🤣 thanks
This is a better list, with subcategories from the actual subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/collapse/wiki/books/ I've been meaning to read this book, my library is like the USA Debt Spiral. Expanding exponentially, but can only be read linearly. The Five Stages of Collapse: Survivors' Toolkit https://www.amazon.com/Five-Stages-Collapse-Survivors-Toolkit/dp/0865717362
Arnold Toynbee's works.
Wow. Never heard of this guy.
I still have to finish the abridged versions of his history of civilizations, but the parts that I read were fairly interesting. I think there's a lot to be learned from his analysis.
"When Money Dies"
The Sovereign Individual The Fourth Turning is Here These are the books I recommend on this topic. Neither are directly about "falling empires" per se, but both extensively discuss massive societal changes. Sovereign Individual compares transition of feudal Europe into industrial nation states to today's transition into the information age. Fourth Turning looks at history through the lens of generational cycles.
You're skipped over a vital aspect of conquest. The quicker an empire gains power, the faster it falls.
I hadn't considered that before. That's definitely something to noodle.
The Ultimate Business Cycle lol
You might be right since the fall of the US will be due to The Fed and money printing.
Same can be said of The Roman Empire, spending more than they produced. Though they had to literally shave off metal from coins. There were issues that were 2nd and 3rd order consequences of money debasement.
Western world is living in a delusion of abundance, waiting for the fog to clear. Assholes in areas of scarcity will attack those who have always known that abundance comes with production. There will be pockets of abundance, more free areas. They need to know how to defend themselves. Violence is not Evil, it is a tool just like any other. I live in an area where if total chaos comes from collapse, I will need to flee. Don't know where to go but I will need to do it.
I already have my plans. I'm hoping that it won't happen until I own my own land..
It would be cool to own some land and create my own microcosm of a town. Private school, Private hospital, Private Law Enforcement, Private Courts.
"Violence is not Evil, it is a tool just like any other." This is true. Perhaps, I'm speaking more anecdotally, but there are a few characteristics that I've noticed to be more frequent within the Gen Z generation. They seem to be a touch more scared of the potential application of brute force in comparison to previous generations and seem to be more vulnerable to the opinions of others. In short, this quote stands true. "Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times."
Although, the Roman Empire was very unique in this regard, due to the fact that their influence is still felt quite heavily even to this day. 🤔
