Do you believe civilizations grow and dissolve in cycles?

Question

Throughout history, civilizations of the earth have been founded on good principles, then, over time, those principles are slowly eroded, and the civilization begins to dissolve, until it implodes and is destroyed. Do you believe this is a cycle, and do you think this is what is happening currently in America, or any other country?

Answer 1

great question. I believe that civilizations run in cycles. The Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations are examples. They all started small, grew and became powerful ten decline I don't believe think the cycle has to do with an amount of years but rather the speed from the middle segment to the end is determined by how fast the governments expand and become less responsive to the people. Other civilizations like the Mayan and Inca seem to be interrupted by natural causes such as drought.
I do believe that U.S. is already in decline because of the size of our government and the abuse of power. We may be the strongest militarily but lag behind many other nations in child care, health care and too many other areas to bother naming. I still believe this trend can be reversed but I don't know if the people in this country have the stones to turn things around.

Answer 2

Absolutely. All companies and businesses, countries, cities, clubs, and organizations in general go through a well documented cycle of birth, growth, maturation, decline, and death.

Birth is typically manifest by revolution, champions for a cause, strong teamwork, sacrifice, and chaos. Growth is typically shown by the beginnings of organization, establishment of infrastructure, investment and sacrifice, and expansion. Maturation is marked by bureaucracy, lack of champions, cronyism, marked disparity in wealth, and authoritarianism. Decline is evidenced by the decay of values, diminishing productivity, increased lawlessness, and a sense of losing control. Finally, death is indicated by revolution, champions for a cause, strong teamwork, sacrifice, and chaos.

If you think birth and death are the same...you are absolutely right. The death of one organization often marks the birth of another to replace it. The death of the American colonies was the birth of the United States for example. The death of Tsarist Russia marked the birth of the Soviet Union for another example.

I believe the U.S. is in the mature stage of the life cycle. Increased government interference with private lives is marked by increased bureaucracy. The lack of champions to lead us in a noble fight for a cause is yet another indication our nation has matured. The diminishing middle class and widening disparity between rich and poor is yet another.

Eventually the U.S. as we know it will die...it is inevitable. Now, lest you be concerned, the death of an organization does not need to be harmful. Peaceful revolution can and has happened. But it does take a champion who will step forward and lead the disgruntled citizens into making a drastic change. And in the U.S., because it is still a democracy, revolution can happen at the ballot box.

Answer 3

It's impossible to predict the present or the future by looking at the past. Would the Roman Empire have crumbled if they had the communications and transportation systems of today ? Maybe not.

Answer 4

The evidence seems to support this theory. If there are any long-term civilizations left from thousands of years ago, my belief would be that they are very small, homogeneous, family-oriented, egalitarian and socialistic.

Answer 5

Grow and dissolve according to their desires of conquest and greed, look to Rome as the example!