The World in Time / Lapham’s Quarterly cover image

Episode 05: Ian Mortimer

The World in Time / Lapham’s Quarterly

CHAPTER

The Unsustainable Future, the One You Call Universal Crisis

I'm constantly minded that the Roman Empire was an extremely civilized organisation, call it what you will. When it collapsed, it collapsed in such a way that the dark ages is a valid term because it actually destroyed the records of its own collapse. And I think when a society collapses in that way, so that written record, I just completely lost - there is no civilized record of the society in decline. That's what I think is the most extreme interpretation. You basically have the much feared breakdown of law and order as the economic systems with the world seize up. What I see is more likely is something more akin to the tyranny of states where individuals take control. I can see it could happen

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