7 Steps ...

The course of Empire destruction / Cole Thomas

7 Steps to the end of empire appears to be universal whether it be Alexander

the Great's, the Mongols, the Roman or the British and now, it may be America's turn as the nation moves further into the 21st century. 

One such observer was Sir John Bagot Glubb (AKA Glubb Pasha). Army General and historian, he studied eleven empires starting with the Assyrians in 859 B.C. and ending with the British in 1950 A.D. Sir John determined that each followed a remarkably similar pattern from birth to demise. Spanning a period of about ten generations, each went through 7 Stages of Empire:

The Age of Pioneers (Outburst)

The Age of Conquests

The Age of Commerce

The Age of Affluence

The Age of Intellect

The Age of Decadence

The Age of Decline & Collapse

And what marked the penultimate age? Defensiveness, pessimism, materialism, frivolity, an influx of foreigners, the Welfare State, and a weakening of religion. To what did he attribute this decadence? Too long a period of wealth and power, selfishness, love of money, and the loss of a sense of duty.

The religion part is questionable but the rest of Glubb's take is pretty spot on but a few other entries should be included in order to complete the picture of a once great nation beginning to lose its place in the world as a viable super power for the ages.

To whit.

• Incompetent governance
• Corrupt politicians
• Rampant inequality
• Climate change
• Resource depletion
• Environmental degradation
• Excess militarism
• Education collapse
• Infrastructure decay
• Lack of vision

Follow the yellow brick road