
 This is how A Society Dies - marai2
https://eand.co/this-is-how-a-society-dies-35bdc3c0b854
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growlist
I could pull this apart virtually sentence by sentence as it's so flawed. For
example, right at the start:

> 'Anglo-American society is now the world’s preeminent example of willful
> self-destruction. _It’s jaw-dropping folly and stupidity is breathtaking to
> the rest of the world._ '

Yet strangely, both US and UK are still more attractive destinations for
inward investment than the EU, and strangely, people from all over the world
still in mass numbers want to visit and migrate to each - including large
numbers from the author's ancestral home, Pakistan.

> the only two rich societies in the world with falling life expectancies,
> incomes, savings, happiness, trust — every single social indicator you can
> imagine — are America and Britain.

Ignoring chronic economic problems in the EU, mass unemployment in Greece,
Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc.

I won't bother continuing. Embarrassingly poor piece.

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brosinante
If your definition of a "good" society is one that attracts more outside
investment than other "bad" societies, then yes, you are correct.

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axilmar
What the article says can be said with a simple phrase: "Neoliberal policies
lower the standard of living".

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ncmncm
How people react to this article says more about them than about the article.

If finding your country has elected an out-and-out con man to its highest
office, and has actually rising infant mortality and falling life expectancy,
doesn't have you deeply worried about its future, you really are not paying
attention.

Can the US be saved? Opinions vary. But the chorus of opinions that there is
nothing to save does not inspire confidence in the prospect of a turnaround.

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lipstone
There's very (or perhaps none) substance to this article. It's essentially a
repetitive rant from someone who would prefer to live in western Europe.

America won't fail as long as it has a strong economy. No one knows how long
that will last, but it's currently true, and there are no convincing signs it
will see a depression anytime soon. Britain is similar, except their economy
(much like the rest of Europe) hasn't seen much growth since the last
recession.

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thundergolfer
This is strongly worded but there's very little rigour or argumentation. Take
paragraph near the end:

> You can see how a society dies — with horrific, brutal clarity — in the
> self-destruction of America and Britain. The hate-filled vitriol of
> Trumpism, the barely-hidden hate of Brexit. Why wouldn’t people who have
> grown suddenly poor hate everyone else? Why wouldn’t they blame anyone and
> everyone they can — from Mexicans to Muslims to Europeans — for their own
> decline? The truth, as always, is harder. America and Britain’s collapse is
> nobody’s fault — nobody’s — but their own.

The first sentence, the paragraph sentence that anchors the paragraph, is bold
and promises much, but what is then offered? Non-specific references to the
"hate" of Trumpism and Brexit, and then 3 rhetorical questions.

I don't really disagree that the situation is dire, but I am unimpressed with
this think-piece. There are _no_ references in this, despite making some quite
strong claims.

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duelingjello
Five points:

i. I heard Thom Hartmann mention "societies usually last only 250 years or 10
generations, on average" [0]. This would put the epicenter of US'es collapse
at roughly 2026 if it were to go that way. Here's another article on previous
one [1].

ii. _America: The Farewell Tour_ by Chris Hedges (2018, book)

iii. _Why Sexual Morality May be Far More Important than You Ever Thought_
(2019)

[https://www.kirkdurston.com/blog/unwin](https://www.kirkdurston.com/blog/unwin)

 _increased sexual freedom always led to the collapse of a culture three
generations later [~75 years]._ This would mean 2035 ± 5 would be the
estimated date that the US would crumble.

iv. Many, many mass shootings - a desperate act of omnicide and suicide don't
happen in an ascending civilization

v. Vulture capitalism's billionaires, massive wealth transfers, privatizing
public commons and selling them off, coupled with a regulatory and political
capture of the seat of power and useless mass media leads nowhere good.

I think many people MUST step forward, shake off the propaganda and their
false beliefs, and demand a reorganization of the status quo before chaos
takes over. We need people to first quit pretending that there is no problem
and break through their Upton Sinclair-cognitive dissonance against actually
doing something.

0\. _The Fate of Empires and Search for Survival (PDF, 1977)_ by Sir John

[http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/glubb.pdf](http://people.uncw.edu/kozloffm/glubb.pdf)

1\. _Empires — The Rise & Fall_ by Renegade Inc. (2016)
[https://link.medium.com/iYeIqeMVl2](https://link.medium.com/iYeIqeMVl2)

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aiscapehumanity
Linking a lite-theocrats article on sexual freedom as decline in a form of
morality. Smh. Doesn't help the vacuous claim of the main article either

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blackflame
They try to tax themselves to prosperity.

