The Ends of the World as We Know Them

[kentuck]

A prophetic view of where we are headed, in my opinion. But we have a chance to save ourselves...Long article but well worth the read, imo.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/opinion/01diamond.html?pagewanted=print&position=

<snip>
Such questions seem especially appropriate this year. History warns us that when once-powerful societies collapse, they tend to do so quickly and unexpectedly. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise: peak power usually means peak population, peak needs, and hence peak vulnerability. What can be learned from history that could help us avoid joining the ranks of those who declined swiftly? We must expect the answers to be complex, because historical reality is complex: while some societies did indeed collapse spectacularly, others have managed to thrive for thousands of years without major reversal.

When it comes to historical collapses, five groups of interacting factors have been especially important: the damage that people have inflicted on their environment; climate change; enemies; changes in friendly trading partners; and the society's political, economic and social responses to these shifts. That's not to say that all five causes play a role in every case. Instead, think of this as a useful checklist of factors that should be examined, but whose relative importance varies from case to case.

<snip>

History also teaches us two deeper lessons about what separates successful societies from those heading toward failure. A society contains a built-in blueprint for failure if the elite insulates itself from the consequences of its actions. That's why Maya kings, Norse Greenlanders and Easter Island chiefs made choices that eventually undermined their societies. They themselves did not begin to feel deprived until they had irreversibly destroyed their landscape.

Could this happen in the United States? It's a thought that often occurs to me here in Los Angeles, when I drive by gated communities, guarded by private security patrols, and filled with people who drink bottled water, depend on private pensions, and send their children to private schools. By doing these things, they lose the motivation to support the police force, the municipal water supply, Social Security and public schools. If conditions deteriorate too much for poorer people, gates will not keep the rioters out. Rioters eventually burned the palaces of Maya kings and tore down the statues of Easter Island chiefs; they have also already threatened wealthy districts in Los Angeles twice in recent decades.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Oh the fall has started Kentuck it has

trust me on this, when they are talking of decommisionng the USS John F Kennedy and not buyuing the F22 Raptor because there is no money, yuo know the fall has started

[bloom]

2. The key seems to be

the idea of the leaders thinking of the welfare of all of the citizens, instead of just themselves.

That is what I think the people on DU mostly get and freepers, for instance, don't.

It's the idea of being concerned about the environment - because it sustains all of us. It's the idea of thinking and planning for future generations and not just ourselves - in regards to resources, economics, diplomacy, trade...

It's a good article.