Predictive History - The Story of "Civilization" Civilization #6 - Elite Overproduction and the Bronze Age Collapse
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Oct 7, 2025 Explore the intriguing dynamics of the Bronze Age, where interconnected trade networks thrived. Discover how elite overproduction led to competition and collapse. Delve into mining, piracy, and the role of the Sea Peoples as raiders during this tumultuous period. Learn about Turchin's theories on elite infighting and the impact of environmental shocks on societies. Can history's cyclical nature help us avoid future collapses? This discussion intertwines ancient struggles with modern economic insights for a captivating look at civilization's rise and fall.
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Bronze Age Global Trade Network
- The Late Bronze Age formed an interconnected trading system where bronze (copper+tin) was the economy's backbone.
- Strategic hubs like Troy earned wealth as logistics toll-gates and attracted piracy and conflict.
Collapse As A Systems Failure
- The Bronze Age Collapse followed rapid, region-wide destruction around 1200 BCE and remains a multi-causal mystery.
- Scholars now favor a systems-collapse model combining earthquakes, climate change, and internal revolt over a single-cause invasion.
Elite Rivalry Overthrows Bottom-Up Revolt
- Peter Turchin's 'elite overproduction' reframes collapse as driven by elite competition, not only popular revolt.
- Civil strife among a growing hereditary elite can destabilize societies more than bottom-up revolutions.
