• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Is Civilization Breaking Down?

Do you believe we're entering a downward spiral phase in global history?


  • Total voters
    50

grip

Slow 🅖 Hand
DP Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2011
Messages
33,000
Reaction score
13,973
Location
FL - Daytona
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Independent
In my 50+ yrs on this planet, I've never seen so many disruptions and crises occurring simultaneously and concurrently. The natural disasters with fires and hurricanes, social and civic unrest over political ideologies, pandemic caused business failures and global supply chain shortages, and now military conflict in Europe.

The world is changing dramatically and fast, and not all for the better.
 
To ask whether civilization is breaking down is to assume that the society is currently "civilized."

Of course, this planet has never been civilized.

Look at history: wars, injustices, cruelty, etc.

And, of course, that the monster in the Kremlin can seemingly get away with killing people in hospitals is proof positive of how uncivilized human beings still are.

Of course, I will not even have to mention the brutes who commit ordinary street crime that brings such suffering to victims and their families.
 
In my 50+ yrs on this planet, I've never seen so many disruptions and crises occurring simultaneously and concurrently. The natural disasters with fires and hurricanes, social and civic unrest over political ideologies, pandemic caused business failures and global supply chain shortages, and now military conflict in Europe.

The world is changing dramatically and fast, and not all for the better.

I suspect that the fires are burning more because there is more to burn and the efforts of men to do stuff is creating the problem.

Hurricanes are hitting more vulnerable expanses of buildings that are located where they are located because idiots built them buildings on the coasts where hurricanes hit.

Unrest due to political ideologies is what it is and that is due to the interactions of people.

The pandemic caused infection by virus. The tragedies you list are man made and man amplified.

Military conflict in Europe is the result of an aggressor being ignored just as aggressors were ignored in 1938.

The good news is that we are very likely not getting worse. the bad i=news is that we have fallen far short of being civilized for millennia.
 
I suspect that the fires are burning more because there is more to burn and the efforts of men to do stuff is creating the problem.

Hurricanes are hitting more vulnerable expanses of buildings that are located where they are located because idiots built them buildings on the coasts where hurricanes hit.

Unrest due to political ideologies is what it is and that is due to the interactions of people.

The pandemic caused infection by virus. The tragedies you list are man made and man amplified.

Military conflict in Europe is the result of an aggressor being ignored just as aggressors were ignored in 1938.

The good news is that we are very likely not getting worse. the bad i=news is that we have fallen far short of being civilized for millennia.
I think the difference in these problems having always been historically with us, we've never had so many people before relying on everything to run smoothly. Before technology, the world was more self reliant, but this current generation absolutely needs electricity, energy, communications, internet, food production, supplies, etc.
 
social and civic unrest over political ideologies,

This is why I voted yes, not the natural disasters. There have always been hurricanes, earthquakes, etc......not that I don't think we've contributed heavily to it.
 
Civilisation is both a matter of directional will (to maintain it) and a matter of submission to human nature (in order to live in harmony within it). If the "will" becomes too strong, then civilisation becomes a yoke or a straight-jacket and the majority of its participants are subjugated. If "submission" becomes too weak, than a civilisation loses common purpose, direction and harmony and thus breaks down or fractures into chaos. The right balance of will and submission is necessary for a healthy civilisation to endure and thrive. Unbridled individualism is as toxic to a civilisation as unfettered collectivism. Both must exist in dynamic equilibrium for a civilisation to both serve the interests of its members and to be strong enough to endure. Alas, we humans are not very skilled at striking that balance and maintaining the proper dynamic equilibrium by constant political juggling.

Presently some Western societies have too little engineering tolerance to put up with internal dissent because they value efficiency too much over allowing their people to enjoy following divergent and inefficient social projects. At the same time they have developed very strong (too strong?) individualist and ego-centric imperatives which have eroded the responsibility to submit to human nature. Too much will and not enough submission to human nature. So yes, civil intolerance is straight-jacketing too many people and those intolerant societies are beginning to collapse. If enough do, then at least modern, liberal, Western Civilisation is kaput. However the solution is not to use authoritarianism or totalitarianism to drag societies and civilisation back from the next precipice, but rather to make civilisation robust and tolerant enough to survive rolling down any precipice it encounters in the now or in the future. Civilisation must be more elastic and less brittle because it always faces a bumpy road with some very big and very deep potholes along the way. The precipices are manifold.

Cheers(?) and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
Military conflict in Europe is the result of an aggressor being ignored just as aggressors were ignored in 1938.

EVERYTHING is like the Nazis, lol. *smh*

godwins law.png
 
I think its all a great big cluster****, but I'm thinking it always was and we are just more aware of it now due to instant dispersal of information.

The increase in severity of storms and fires does seem to be something that is changing for the worse imo. Destruction of the planet is progressing more rapidly I believe.

I dont really think "civilization" itself is disintegrating though.
 
Your perception of the world starts when you were born, it is shaped be events you see as you are aging. Usually if you ask one what was the worst of something they will relate it to sometime that they actually experienced, things that happened in history they did not experience so they are overlooked in answering that question. Relating to what my parents when trough and the periods after I would say WWII, but then there is WWI also not a good time. If you dived into history there numerous decades far far worse than anything now. Spanish Flu killed off over 50 million, if you walk it back smallpox is said to have killed between 60 and 90 per cent of this continents’ original inhabitants and walk it back even earlier the Black Death killed over half the population of Europe. History books are filled with events that make todays problems trivial by comparison, the difference is you are living todays events so they become major to you. JMO
 
I think the difference in these problems having always been historically with us, we've never had so many people before relying on everything to run smoothly. Before technology, the world was more self reliant, but this current generation absolutely needs electricity, energy, communications, internet, food production, supplies, etc.
BINGO.

We live in a society that expects INSTANT, real-time, up-to-the-minute connectivity, and convenience.

We now have 24/7/365 media. Attention spans for reading and comprehension seem to be equivalent to the text contained in a tweet.

How many families take the time to plant a garden annually? How many can't cook from scratch? Let's not even talk about how many people carry credit card debt, etc. because they can't take the time to budget and save for something...they want it NOW so they swipe the plastic and pay for it with a nice little interest rate on top.

Society isn't in a downward spiral but some people may be learning hard lessons about their wasteful spending and casual approach to life where they expect everything to be easy, fast, cheap, and instantaneous.
 
I think the difference in these problems having always been historically with us, we've never had so many people before relying on everything to run smoothly. Before technology, the world was more self reliant, but this current generation absolutely needs electricity, energy, communications, internet, food production, supplies, etc.

True. That said, I'm hardly "this current generation" but i am absolutely dependent on technology.

When I flip the switch on the wall and the lights come on, while I'm still amazed on one level. I expect it to light up the room.

During a power outage, when the lights DON'T come on, I actually flip the switch again. ;)
 
In my 50+ yrs on this planet, I've never seen so many disruptions and crises occurring simultaneously and concurrently. The natural disasters with fires and hurricanes, social and civic unrest over political ideologies, pandemic caused business failures and global supply chain shortages, and now military conflict in Europe.

The world is changing dramatically and fast, and not all for the better.
Been warning folks for a couple years now that I think we are entering Neo Dar Ages!
 
no .... just another mad man letting his pride tell him he can rule the world
 
I had a video chat with family on the other side of the planet yesterday. It was amazing. I love this era we live in. Things have never been better.
You must be very young then.
 
In my 50+ yrs on this planet, I've never seen so many disruptions and crises occurring simultaneously and concurrently. The natural disasters with fires and hurricanes, social and civic unrest over political ideologies, pandemic caused business failures and global supply chain shortages, and now military conflict in Europe.

The world is changing dramatically and fast, and not all for the better.
Manmade Climate Change is bringing the apocalypse closer & closer & people are wanting to suck the planet hollow, to power their vehicles while trusting their future to an imaginary superhero residing in the sky. An Insane man refuses to accept that he lost an election & millions believe him, while his successful doubleganger refuses to respect the national borders of his neighbor, 6,040,665 citizens of the planet are pushing up daises & some folks are more concerned with where it came from then they are about doing their part to stop it. Then there is the man threatening to blow the whole effen thing up if anybody steps in to help the little guy getting the shit kick out of him, who like Cool Hand Luke, won't quit.
Is there a question?
 
Last edited:
Your perception of the world starts when you were born, it is shaped be events you see as you are aging. Usually if you ask one what was the worst of something they will relate it to sometime that they actually experienced, things that happened in history they did not experience so they are overlooked in answering that question. Relating to what my parents when trough and the periods after I would say WWII, but then there is WWI also not a good time. If you dived into history there numerous decades far far worse than anything now. Spanish Flu killed off over 50 million, if you walk it back smallpox is said to have killed between 60 and 90 per cent of this continents’ original inhabitants and walk it back even earlier the Black Death killed over half the population of Europe. History books are filled with events that make todays problems trivial by comparison, the difference is you are living todays events so they become major to you. JMO
Manmade Climate Change is intensifying the frequency, power & intensity of natural disasters, while it is in our realm of expertise to fight killer viruses & slow Climate Change the political will to do so is all mucked up in me, me, me. Making Do-gooders an enemy class.
 
In my 50+ yrs on this planet, I've never seen so many disruptions and crises occurring simultaneously and concurrently. The natural disasters with fires and hurricanes, social and civic unrest over political ideologies, pandemic caused business failures and global supply chain shortages, and now military conflict in Europe.

The world is changing dramatically and fast, and not all for the better.
There is a big difference between "civilization" and "life in the United States of America".
 
In my 50+ yrs on this planet, I've never seen so many disruptions and crises occurring simultaneously and concurrently. The natural disasters with fires and hurricanes, social and civic unrest over political ideologies, pandemic caused business failures and global supply chain shortages, and now military conflict in Europe.

The world is changing dramatically and fast, and not all for the better.
You realize that instant communication world wide makes it seem like more things are happening now than when it took a letter to travel 3 months, right?
 
You must be very young then.
No. Things are better for more people around the world than ever before... this is the Golden Age of humanity.
 
No. Things are better for more people around the world than ever before... this is the Golden Age of humanity.
America first. Around the world was a game
 
I had a video chat with family on the other side of the planet yesterday. It was amazing. I love this era we live in. Things have never been better.
I did the same... three way video chat with family in Wellington and California. Then got off the video and texted my friend in Hawaii, set out a golf invitation on Whatsapp got some replies and played 18 then caught up on the Ukraine... all from my little rural part of out of the way New Zealand in one day. With rights transferring to people better than ever and police getting better, etc. things are better than ever.
 
Back
Top Bottom