The more history I read, the easier it is for me to accept the present. Right now I am reading Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. In a chapter discussing forms of government, they wrote about monarchies and dictatorships that transformed into democracies over time. Then these same democracies later transformed back into autocracies. They gave example after example of societies, from Greece to Rome to Feudal Europe to Chinese to African Empires which all thrived under different forms of government before eventually disintegrating as they moved through autocratic rule, oligarchic rule, socialism, democracy and back again.
They wrote this book in 1968, the year I was born.
As I learned about art, history, ruling classes, governments, patricians, warlords, royals, slaves, peasants, merchants and landowners, I see the same story repeating itself over and over again.
An individual or group enriches itself and puts itself into a leadership role, where they continue to enrich themselves even more at the expense of the “common people” (ie. poor, not in power). The commoners pay the taxes, make the goods and do the work. The people in power live luxuriously while preaching the virtues of self-sacrifice for the greater good, humility and hard work to the underclass. Eventually the wealth gap becomes untenable. Then comes war, revolution, disbandment and occasionally peaceful movements which change the society.
Throughout history, civilizations swing back and forth over decades and centuries. The ruling class always becomes greedy, taking too much for itself. The underclass bends under the crushing weight from supporting the ruling classes (through taxes, labor, etc.) until things disintegrate. Then the “new” ruling class takes over and gradually becomes more greedy, reporting the cycle endlessly.
This is not as bleak as it sounds. For me, it’s quite the opposite.
It helps me realize that whatever my present circumstances are regarding government, social support structures, taxes, government, wealth, and position in society, I am just somewhere on this continuum.
Will democracy (and the US) fail? Yes, of course it will. Maybe not in my lifetime, but sometime.
Will we have power hungry elites enriching themselves at the expense of the masses? Of course. We already do.
How bad will it get? It will get bad enough…and then someday those people will be deposed and replaced.
Best of all, I do not need to do anything about it. The best I can do is recognize what part of the continuum we are in and try to maximize my own well being – just like congress does, just like the billionaires do, just like civilizations have been doing for thousands of years.