SOCIETIES and CYCLEs
As we deal with an imploding society of our own , it's interesting to look at other societies, past and present, that have experienced similar disruptions. For information specific to the likely (or maybe ongoing, by the time you read this) collapse due to Peak Oil.
Collapse of Societies Societies collapse for reasons, and social scientists and writers see a commonality in those reasons. No society appears to avoid the inevitable destiny. "Look back over the past, with its changing empires that rose and fell, and you can foresee the future, too." - Marcus Aurelius Collapse How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs and Steel [book] Collapse of Complex Societies, The A study of why societies have collapsed throughout history by Joseph Tainter [book] Coming Dark Age, The On the risks of unmanageability of large technological systems and the tragic consequences it could have for the world - By Roberto Vacca [e-book] Death of Megalopolis, The A futuristic doom novel - By Roberto Vacca [e-book] Why Societies Collapse Transcript of a talk by UCLA professor Jared Diamond, winner of a 1997 Pulitzer Prize for his book Guns, Germs and Steel Collapse of Contemporary Societies Societal collapse isn't just in the distant past. It's all around us. Perhaps in our present, definitely in our future. We can learn much from societies that have recently collapsed. They Came, They Went Away Article in The Economist on European empires Argentina After The Collapse A review of the film Argentina: Hope in Hard Times Argentina Crisis Sparks Cooperative Growth From Project Censored Argentina: Hope in Hard Times How Argentines are picking up the pieces of their devastated economy and creating new possibilities for the future. Argentina's Economic Turmoil Various views of the collapse Argentina's RGT A countrywide barter club network "Piquetes", The Argentina's unemployed build direct democracy for basic needs Take, The Argentine workers take over a closed auto-parts factory [film] Throw Them All Out Argentina's Grassroots Rebellion Workers Take Factories Into Their Own Hands When plant shutdowns loom, workers seek ways to keep the machinery running and their jobs from disappearing Cuba In 1989 the Soviet Union collapsed. Cuba had been dependent on the USSR for oil, purchase of its sugar crop, and other economic aid. Deprived of this assistance, Cuba's economy and agricultural production collapsed, resulting in what the Cubans euphemistically refer to as their "Special Period." For more information, see also our Cuba page. Cuba Libre Article in The Guardian Cuba's Security in Fresh Product Article from Food First Slim Pickings in the Special Period A visit to a bodega and an economics lesson Special Period From Wikipedia Illuminations Cuba's Fate and Ours Soviet Union In 1989 the Union of Soviet Social Republic collapsed. There are many different theories as to why, but there is unanimous agreement that it certainly collapsed. Post Soviet Lessons for a Post-American Century - Part One How the Russian people dealt with the collapse, and a comparison between Russian and American cultures. Could the Russian experience be a dress rehearsal for the American experience? Part Two Part Three United States "Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it." - George Bernard Shaw Arundhati Roy An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire Confronting Empire New American Century, The People vs. Empire Colossus: The Price of America's Empire Speech by Niall Ferguson, author of "Empire" Colossus The rise and fall of the American empire [book] - (book review) Dark Ages America: The Final Phase of Empire By Morris Berman, author of The Twilight of American Culture [book] Decline and Fall of the American Empire, The Article on Gore Vidal Decline and Fall of the American Empire Interview with author Charles A. Kupchan Empire of Debt The rise of an epic financial crisis [book] (about the book) End of Empire, The William Greider in The Nation Fascism Anyone? Fourteen characteristics of fascism—but of course it can't happen here. Imperial Entropy: Collapse of the American Empire By Kirkpatrick Sale in Counterpunch Jonathan Schell on the Empire that Fell as it Rose Author of "The Unconquerable World" Last Waltz, The: The Coming End of the American Superpower By Paul Craig Roberts in Counterpunch Leading Historian Says U.S. "Empire" To Fail Report on a talk by historian Eric J. Hobsbawm Militarism and the American Empire A conversation with Chalmers Johnson Short-Lived American Empire, The By independent journalist Gwynne Dyer Sorrows of Empire, The Militarism, secrecy, and the end of the republic, by Chalmers Johnson [book] (interview) Teetering Empire, The From AntiWar.com Third Stage of American Empire, The By William Rivers Pitt Relevant Books Iron Heel, The By Jack London It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis Plot Against America, The: A Novel By Philip Roth They Thought They Were Free The Germans, 1933-45 Cycles Is everything new and never before seen? Are our actions the only factors affecting the course of history? Throughout the history of humanity many people have studied trends and cycles and concluded that there are natural forces much greater than we that affect the destinies of our societies and our lives. Perhaps any economic and societal crash we experience has less to do with Peak Oil, budget deficits and housing bubbles than it does with the cyclical ebb and flow of history. Asian Slump, The - Will It Become a World Depression? Essay by economics professor Ravi Batra on social cycles. Batra has been described as "having predicted 10 out of the last 3 recessions" (he was wrong on the timing of the one discussed here, too), but the Law of Social Cycles that he presents is very interesting. Cycles Research Institute For the interdisciplinary study of cycles Foundation for the Study of Cycles Purpose is to discover the causes and conditions for cyclic and rhythmic behaviors Fourth Turning, The The past and future of Western history [book] Great Cycle, The Predicting and profiting from crowd behavior, the Kondratieff Wave, and long-term cycles [book] Kondratieff Theory Includes biography of Nikolai Kondratieff Kondratieff Wave A 54-year (average) economic, social and cultural cycle Kondratieff Waves in the U.S. From 1789 - 2003 Long Wave and War, The The influence of cycles on war Long Wave Cycle By Nikolai Kondratieff [book] Thoughts on a Second Great Depression One person's commentary on cycles Economic Collapse The last major economic collapse was the Great Depression, starting in 1929 and lasting throughout the 1930s. But economic collapse is a recurring, and cyclical, event throughout history. Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940 How Americans lived during the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression [book] Great Crash of 1929, The The classic book on the economic collapse and Great Depression, by John Kenneth Galbraith [book] Great Depression, The Public Broadcasting System (PBS) Greatest Market Crashes of History From tulip bulb to dot.com Hard Times An oral history of the Great Depression by Studs Terkel [book] Stock Market Crash PBS Urban Survival.com Anticipating economic collapse - long wave economic news Scenarios Nobody knows for sure how a Peak Oil-instigated economic collapse might play out, but there are some pretty interesting guesses. See Dry Dipstick's Possible Scenarios |
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