In this episode, Doug and I discuss Sir John Glubb's seminal 1976 essay 'The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival.'
Glubb says all empires have a common life cycle - pioneers, conquests, commerce, affluence, intellect, decadence, and decline and collapse. We talk through the various stages and point out the parts of the essay that we find most relevant to the situation we find ourselves in today.
As it turns out, the welfare state, influx of foreigners, internal political divisions, the loss of virtue and the rise of materialism, and even the emergence of feminism are not unique to the American Empire.
We encourage you to read Glubb’s entire essay here. It’s enlightening, relatively short, and a pleasure to read.
Time stamps from the episode:
00:00 Introduction and Overview
00:19 The Fate of Empires: An Introduction
03:12 Stages of Empire: From Pioneers to Decline
05:24 Historical Examples of Empires
13:40 The Age of Commerce and Its Impact
20:27 The Age of Intellect and Its Consequences
25:34 Modern Reflections on Empire
29:37 The Role of Education and Intellectualism
30:36 Historical Civil Wars and Internal Conflicts
31:24 The Influx of Foreigners in Great Empires
37:06 The Roman Mob and Free Distributions
47:38 Decadence and Moral Corruption
53:20 Summary and Final Thoughts
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