The collapse of civilizations
The collapse of civilizations often occurs many times in human history regardless of the greatness or level of immunity a society is to various vulnerabilities. Traditionally, civilizations faced challenges like high population and changes in demographic and political aspects, leading to their collapse. The Roman Empire and the Maya collapse faced similar challenges like increased competition of the available resources and political instability (Evans et al., 2018). Modern society has drastically evolved, changing the causes of societal collapse with the economic factors and technology being among the leading causes of the collapse of modern civilizations. Although western civilization seems to enjoy the desired stability across the world, it is worth noting that it is at the brink of collapse (Nuwer, 2020). Insight into the causes of western civilization’s collapse will reveal the appropriate ways of preventing its extinction.
Historical vs. Modern Causes of Civilization Collapse
Historically, the primary cause of the collapse of civilizations was political instability. Western society has faced a significant number of political instabilities, but they have been resolved amicably, preventing the collapse of society’s modern civilization. Another cause was the increased population, but it poses minimal risk to the collapse of western civilization (Nuwer, 2020). Unlike the Maya collapse, which was caused by a lack of peace and political instability from the warfare between the city-states, increased population, and natural calamities like drought, western civilization faces different aspects that increase the risk of its collapse.
Cause of Western Civilization Collapse
The primary causes of western civilization’s collapse are the ecological strain and economic stratification. In particular, increased human activities in the western nations have adversely affected the ecological aspects, making it hard for various species to survive in society (Evans et al., 2018). The ecological strain in western civilization sets the foundation for the collapse of civilization through the depletion of natural resources like groundwater, soil, fisheries, and forests that play a pivotal role in supporting the lives of many people. The ecological strain is caused by a climatic change from the increased exploitation of natural resources by human activities and global warming (Nuwer, 2020). Efforts to safeguard the western civilization should focus on the adoption of better and sustainable energy sources that prevent the depletion of natural resources, thus protecting the ecology.
The economic stratification cause of western civilization decline, on the other hand, lies in the unequal distribution of wealth in modern society. In particular, the elites have pushed the society toward instability levels that often set the path of civilization’s collapse by hoarding huge quantities of wealth and resources (Nuwer, 2020). Having the resources in the hands of the few elites creates economic instability in western civilization, posing a high risk of civil unrest. The commoners often play a crucial role in providing labor services to wealthy individuals, but having a situation where almost all the western capital is concentrated in the hands of the few may lead to a crash in the working populations because of insufficient wealth allocation through poor wages (Nuwer, 2020). The commoners pose the threat of denying the few wealthy individuals the much-needed labor, leading to the collapse. The appropriate way of preventing the collapse of western civilization is to adopt an equitable wealth distribution by increasing the wages of the commoners, thus creating harmony in the economy.
Conclusion
The Maya and Roman empires’ causes of collapse have been experienced by western civilization, yet they pose minimal risk to its collapse. In modern society, the primary causes of western civilizations collapse lie in the ecological strain and economic stratification. In particular, increased human activity has led to the depletion of essential natural resources like groundwater and other equally essential resources (Evans et al., 2018). On the other hand, the economic instability created by an unequal distribution of wealth in modern society sets the foundation for civil unrest that risks the collapse of western civilization. All efforts geared toward preventing the collapse of the western civilization should focus on the adoption of better energy utilization sources and equitable distribution of wealth.