One of the reasons a late-stage civilization cannot be save…
One of the reasons a late-stage civilization cannot be saved is that those who want to save it are fighting an uphill battle against an enemy that outnumbers them. And if that wasn’t bad enough, destruction is much easier than protection. You cannot defend a city against an enemy besieging it who doesn't want to take it, but destroy it.
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In the latest Rogan podcast Peter Thiel talks about the incentive structure for society flipping as the older generations reach a threshold where they outnumber the young and begin redistribution societal wealth for themselves starting a vicious cycle of population decline
Demographics certainly play a big role. As Spengler noted a century ago: "When the ordinary thought of a highly cultivated people begins to regard 'having children' as a question of pro's and con's, the great turning point has come."
It's interesting that the sophisticated position in society is considered to forego children... very [[midwit meme]]
I think people literally want their civilization to die towards the end of the cycle. Not always consciously, of course, but something inside of them wants it all to end. I think they are so sick of it that they want to die, but they hate that everything will go on without them and prefer it all to end and everyone to die.
[[civilizational collapse]]