Civilizations are theorized to be caught into progress traps. (Wright, page 108). Reverting in time, a civilization may weaken its natural resources of woods, water and soil. A small village on good land beside a river is a fine idea. All the necessities for survival are at your convenience. Then the area becomes more desirable and more settlers arrive, therefore population increases, the nomadic lifestyle comes to a halt. The village grows into a city and then the people pave over the good land. Eventually there is no room left for natural production and crop failure, famine and disease escalate. As population grows, supply must increase because demand increases, more babies meant more hunters. (Wright, page 39)
Population growth increased difference in wealth and power. Freedom and social opportunity declined as social structures developed because boundaries hardened between groups. (Wright, page 48) Social groups split into clans or ranks, such as nobles, priests, and commoners and of course a king. (Wright, page 59) Each generation of royalty developed images that grew bigger than the last, demanding more power. (Wright, page 59) Tales about warriors taken power, competition arises as societies everywhere move towards greater size, complexity and environmental demand. (Wright, page 62) These ideologies are what cause civilizations to create technological advances that assist in expansion and dominance causing intimidation amongst societies.
Times when societies were strong, others were weak. Such as the time period when Greece was at its best during the Golden Age, and Sparta was the strongest city-state because of its military training. When a society has a weak government, military command or economic conditions decline, other societies see that as an opportunity for them to take control and expand their own territory. The Ancient Egyptian culture was long lived because of its valuable resources and location. Soon enough, Alexander the Great took it over and Rome expanded and developed into one of the strongest ancient civilizations. In human society, greed and arrogance doesn’t last too long. There has always been reform and reconstruction.
The assumption that a pattern of change exists, is true, our world has been advancing, slowly, but it has been a direction toward improvement. From the ability to create fire, to settling, social structures being developed, governments emerging, technologies advancing from swords to missiles, these innovations are signs of success. From ancient to modern years, human societies have had tests, and these experiments have only made succession plausible and possible because of failed societies. Our present behavior is typical of failed societies because of gluttony and conceit, so only those societies who shift to long term thinking will have true opportunities to conformity and compelling systems. (Wright)
