Generational theory, international history and current events
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Kutluk Ozguven
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Studied Linguistics at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) (Graduated 1900)6y
Dark ages appear suddenly during relatively peak times.
Göbeklitepe culture which gave the world religion, agriculture and construction was going well, civilising hunter-gatherers and producing farming towns. Then something happened, the temple was buried and an interruption came.
Sumer was going well, advanced, developing writing and cities and nobody invaded it but a hollow followed. Akkadians took over.
The late Bronze Age world was flourishing, stable, interconnected and within a few generations total darkness came towards the turn of the millennium.
Rome was going strong with double engines in the capital Constantinopolis and the old capital Rome but within decades the left engine collapsed and all Roman colonies were left alone with the barbarians.
Muslim world was at its peak in learning but out of the blue one of the Central Asian nations went into chain reaction in 13th century and world of Islam went with years into darkness for centuries.
Regaining peak the firearm empires of the Muslim world Turkey, Iran, India by early 17th Century and looked seemingly forever stable were faced in end 18th century supersized British, Russian, French empires fighting each other on their corpses.
Communist world had its glorious days in the 70s and looked like a 1000-year venture but in the mid-80s its death was imminent. In the 90s what was left of the Soviets was under the rule of jungle.
Death and subsequent dark ages come suddenly and at time least expected after a peak and complecency.
Our global interconnected microprocessor dependant world can easily run into chaos and stay there for a long time.
We are just at the edge of dark ages, as always and as likelier after times of peak.
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These are my top 3 general characteristics of a civilization that is on the cusp of entering a dark age/has just entered a dark age (in other words, where I think we are right now):Cool Breeze wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 11:20 am Higster, what are you top 3 (or more) characteristics of a "dark age"?
This is a serious term but I don't see it very well defined anywhere, so what do YOU mean when you say it?
Navigator wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 2:01 am There is no turning back from this and society will ultimately collapse as its fundamental structure, the family, falls apart. There was hope at the end of the Roman empire because the “barbaric” tribes actually had stronger marital and familial ties and bonds than the so-called Christian Romans did. This is what allowed for the survival of mankind during the dark ages.
I would add just a couple of points to the " characteristics of a dark age":Higgenbotham wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 12:17 pmThese are my top 3 general characteristics of a civilization that is on the cusp of entering a dark age/has just entered a dark age (in other words, where I think we are right now):Cool Breeze wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 11:20 am Higster, what are you top 3 (or more) characteristics of a "dark age"?
This is a serious term but I don't see it very well defined anywhere, so what do YOU mean when you say it?
1. Decline in societal standards
2. Functional failure of government
3. Lack of accountability
Each of these should be prefaced by the word extreme, which also applies to the present situation, in my opinion. Once the society is well into the dark age the top 3 characteristics are different.
The top 3 general characteristics once well into a dark age are:
1. Subsistence economy
2. Local government
3. Strong family unit
Which brings up a point made by Navigator in his recent post, which I fully agree with:
Navigator wrote: Mon May 08, 2023 2:01 am There is no turning back from this and society will ultimately collapse as its fundamental structure, the family, falls apart. There was hope at the end of the Roman empire because the “barbaric” tribes actually had stronger marital and familial ties and bonds than the so-called Christian Romans did. This is what allowed for the survival of mankind during the dark ages.
Some might question the use of the word government in characterizing what is going on in the depths of a dark age. It might be more appropriate to call small numbers of families that join together for political reasons after the huge wave of destruction is mostly over something other than a government. It won't be anything as organized as what we call a local government today.Higgenbotham wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 12:17 pm
The top 3 general characteristics once well into a dark age are:
1. Subsistence economy
2. Local government
3. Strong family unit
I also brought up the failure to enforce the rule of law a few years ago in this sense:Higgenbotham wrote: Sat Apr 08, 2023 12:15 pm Someone I know who moved out on 10 acres in Florida almost lost their property to fire last week. The adjacent neighbor, who moved in a year ago, was burning cardboard during dry season and a fire got out of control quickly. I don't know where they came from. It took the fire department 20 minutes to arrive and by the time they got there 5 acres was gone. It was estimated that in 2 more minutes the fire would have reached the house.
A couple things I said to them. If this were the dark age rather than just the descent, your house would be gone. And if this were the dark age, the remaining neighbors would have to get together and decide what to do about these clowns.
Higgenbotham wrote: Sat Dec 03, 2011 2:00 pm Now I'll use Tuchman's words to further attempt to define a Dark Age.
"Mankind was not improved by the message. Consciousness of wickedness made behavior worse."
This is a clear distinction in my view and we are seeing Dark Age behaviors today, behaviors that have not been seen to this extent in seven centuries. As the financial crimes go unprosecuted, the consciousness of that knowledge has apparently increased the willingness to commit even bigger financial crimes.
It's really the same stuff being discussed over and over and over.Higgenbotham wrote: Thu May 11, 2023 7:01 pm With regard to the rule of law, in the recent past, the rule of law was generally fairly and uniformly enforced. As of now, by my reckoning, we have a "functional failure of government" (general item number 2 above) to enforce the rule of law fairly and uniformly in many instances. This is the specific type of thing that is leading from the cusp of the dark age into the dark age proper.
I think the thing to be aware of is that it's likely not just a slow and steady degradation that has accelerated somewhat recently. It's more likely that in a growing number of jurisdictions there is essentially no enforcement of the rule of law and that in most jurisdictions not much has changed - yet.Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Apr 30, 2023 12:18 pmThis is from a link the NPR article referenced.Guest wrote: Sun Apr 30, 2023 11:08 amhttps://www.npr.org/2023/04/29/11727754 ... ecord-highMore people are getting away with murder. Unsolved killings reach a record high.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022 ... lf-in-2020
Higgenbotham wrote: Sun Dec 27, 2015 1:04 amYes, many do and many will. Something I wrote in 2013 on this forum: "...a breakdown allows folks who have grievances either as individuals or as part of a group to settle long standing scores that the presence of the rule of law did not allow them to settle."Guest wrote:I'm looking forward to Mad Max. I have scores to settle.
