Question for John / Historians - Regarding Stupidity

[VinceP1974]

In the past , has there ever been a society that became to stupid to survive? I feel like this country and Western Europe are popualated being led by complete and utter morons

[John]

Dear Vince,

> In the past , has there ever been a society that became to stupid
> to survive? I feel like this country and Western Europe are
> popualated being led by complete and utter morons

That level of stupidity exists in every society and nation, in every
generational crisis era, as soon as the survivors of the previous
crisis war are gone.

In WW II, President Roosevelt ignored the danger from Japan, leading
to Pearl Harbor and the greatest military disaster in American
history. On the other side, it also led to the worst military defeat
in Japanese history.

> "Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups,
> parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."

John

[VinceP1974]

Dear Vince,

> In the past , has there ever been a society that became to stupid
> to survive? I feel like this country and Western Europe are
> popualated being led by complete and utter morons

That level of stupidity exists in every society and nation, in every
generational crisis era, as soon as the survivors of the previous
crisis war are gone.

In WW II, President Roosevelt ignored the danger from Japan, leading
to Pearl Harbor and the greatest military disaster in American
history. On the other side, it also led to the worst military defeat
in Japanese history.

> "Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups,
> parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."

John

Thanks for the answer John. Yes, you're right. All I need to do is remind myself about the "leadership" in the 1930s. (Which I often do)

I read Niall Ferguson book "War of the World" and the most striking part to me was that as the defeat of Germany became inevitible, that the leadership in German had so much guilt and contempt for their own country that they were going to ensure that Germany was absolutely destroyed before it would ever surrunder. That Germnay had to pay a price for the deeds it had done and they would see that no redemption would come to thier country.

Sometimes I feel like the Leftists in control of things right now have the same sort of self-destruction drive somewhere inside of them, knowingly or unknowingly.

[shoshin]

you might try Jared Diamond's book, "Collapse" which describes various "too stupid to survive" scenarios...not really GD, but interesting as well..

http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societie ... 643&sr=1-1

[VinceP1974]

I looked at that book at the store a while ago, and was thinking of buying it, but I was flipping through it and I got the impression that he put way too much into environmentalism , so I figured he was flaky.

[The Grey Badger]

That's not a good assumption. I have read the book, and while I'm not qualified to judge his account of the problems with Greenland or Rapa Nui, they're plausible and jibe with what other historians have to say.

While there's a lot of fluffy-bunny tree-hugging in the environmental movement, it doesn't necessarily follow that everything said about the environment is nonsense. As I tell people, it still makes sense not to eat your seed corn (or spend your savings as if they were income), not to foul your nest, and to clean up after yourself. Frex, any conservative who thinks that providing water to Albuquerque by mining the aquifer is sustainable would be better off not betting any real money on it.

[VinceP1974]

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll give the book a chance. IT is a topic that interests me.