Civilisations rise and fall. Help!

T

Harry Hudson

I have been searching, unsuccessfully, for a post from some time ago and hope someone (the original poster?) may be able to help.

It contained a short list, of about six stages, which summarised how civilizations begin, rise and eventually decline. It impressed me with its elegant simplicity. What concerned me, as I looked at the list, was that today’s Western Society seemed to fit in the list at the stage where we were well past our best. In hindsight I should have made a note of the list, as I now can’t remember it.

That’s not much info to go on but I hope someone will be able to help.

Tom
 
J

Jeff Young

GT40s Supporter
Goes like this:

1. Man discovers fire.
2. Man builds fire, cooks meat.
3. Fere attracts woman.
4. Woman attracts second man.
5. Men fight over women.
6. Woman rules world, civizliation over.
 
W

Bill Musarra

There are several steps, some say 6, some 8, and others 9. This is an excerpt from one of those. Each will note that it came from the same source.

Bill

The Sequence of the Passing of a Civilization
This was recently sent to me by a close friend, someone who, like you and I, see the clear threats to our great republic.
Where are we? What has happened? What will happen next? Are we floundering like a fish out of water? Do we change? Do we continue down the sequence till we begin again?

How Long Does USA Have? About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"
 
G

Graham

wbmusarra said:
There are several steps, some say 6, some 8, and others 9. This is an excerpt from one of those. Each will note that it came from the same source.

Bill

The Sequence of the Passing of a Civilization
This was recently sent to me by a close friend, someone who, like you and I, see the clear threats to our great republic.
Where are we? What has happened? What will happen next? Are we floundering like a fish out of water? Do we change? Do we continue down the sequence till we begin again?

How Long Does USA Have? About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"
Click to expand...


Bill,

That's a very interesting post. Never seen the quote before, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for posting.
 
W

tom pritchett

I have looked this up a few times lately to share with family and friends. I thought I should bump it back to the first page so it is easier to find.

Thanks for putting this up.
 
T

Jimmy P

For all my British friends who might recall the immortal words of another Scotsman....."We're all doooomed Cap'n Mannering" (Dad's Army)

In all seriousness....These words as posted by Bill are certainly thought provoking.
 
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