Posted by Dovetail Joint on November 23, 2023, 7:00 pm, in reply to "Re: London’s falling"
Looking back 5,000 years the history, or model, of civilization, appears to have been built on social hierachy and a 'social contract' between the ruling elite and the rest of the urban population.
Simply put, the rulers/priesthood, know how to rule, protect and provide... stability, and the people accept this 'model' as long as it works, for most of them. When it doesn't, for whatever reason, things begin to unravel. Slowly, imperceptibly at first, but then things speed up for various reasons and the system begins to fail, a cascade of failure undermines trust and belief i the system and the ruling elit lose legitimacy leading almost inexorably towards collapse.