Strangle on its own complexities: The collapse of complex societies

... Civilization are fragile, impermanent things.

Sensing that our own collective future is in jeopardy... we are hungry for historical analysis to help us imagine the direction events might take (Baker)

Club of Rome, survivalist movement, environmentalist, no-growth advocates, nuclear-freeze proponents,

of  all the changes that the twentieth century has brought, none goes deeper than the disappearance of that unquestioning faith in the future and the absolute value of our civilization which was the dominant note of the 19th century. (Dawson)

Human history as a whole has been characterized by a seemingly inexorable trend toward higher levels of complexity, specialization, and sociopolitical control, processing of greater quantities of energy and information, formation of ever larger settlements, and development of more complex and capable technologies.

What is collapse?

A society has collapsed when it displays a rapid, significant loss of an established level of sociopolitical complexity.
   a lower degree of stratification and social differentiation;
   less economic and occupational specialization, of individuals, groups, and territories.
   less centralized control; that is, less regulation and integration of diverse economic and political groups by elites.
  ....

The Western Zhou Empire (西周[1112 B.C - 771 B.C.]) - the golden era of Chinese civilization
Eastern Zhou (770 B.C. - 256 B.C.): Spring and Autumn Period (770-464 B.C.) and Warring Period (463-222 B.C.)
Qin (秦) reunified China in 221 B.C.


The nature of complex societies