how all society will fall theories

Just wondering what every one thinks will be the reason for society to completely fall apart on the whole planet. Nothing is to crazy for this one. if you think were heading for a total collapse give evidence for your conclusions.

Hi AA, A total collapse could only come about by world wide nuke exchange or a global disaster such as a bollide impact etc. History has shown us that while a country/ies goes down the pan new centres of power emerge. Some benefit from the the bad luck of others, wars especially make some countries very rich and powerful America being the latest member of the club. When America's on the slide it will be China etc. next on the top of the pile.

Hmmm... what would be the effect on Australia of 2 well placed terrorist nukes in Sydney and Melbourne? The 2 biggest cities getting their economic centres destroyed? I dont think that would be enough. It would be a gigantic disaster, but would it collapse the nation?

Energy... we have coal to the end of the century. Loss of petrol would be a major social change, but we'd adapt. Go back to the old world of living closer to our work.

I'm trying to think of places that have collapsed... perhaps Yugoslavia, various African nations... in those cases you had serious racial tensions that were artificially suppressed, then set free. If some political group ("Nazis") managed to drum up serious racial tension, combined with economic hard time. 1930's Germany. That would be my best bet for tearing up Society.

Hmm...

You all seem to suspect it will be the doing of a nation, or several nations. I'm sure that most people will agree with that statement.

However, my opinion differs quite alot.
We see it happening today. It is out of control because we let it. If we don't ignore it, we tend to complain and try to solve the problem with drugs. Generations before the babyboomers notice it more.

So what am I talking about?

Children. That's right. I am talking about kids. Earlier generations had their children under control. Then those children grew up, and brought up their own children the same way.

Then notions such as political correctness stepped in. As a result, we let our kids run free. They WON'T grow up and magically become well-mannered and civil. Then while we are in our retirement, guess who will be running the world politically? They are.

We have started the downfall of society by the hands of our children and our children's children.

Originally posted by Gear

Children. That's right. I am talking about kids. Earlier generations had their children under control. Then those children grew up, and brought up their own children the same way.

Then notions such as political correctness stepped in. As a result, we let our kids run free. They WON'T grow up and magically become well-mannered and civil. Then while we are in our retirement, guess who will be running the world politically? They are.

We have started the downfall of society by the hands of our children and our children's children.

I totally agree with this. Kids today are not disciplined nearly enough. They are not taught about consequences. Nowadays, if a teacher dares to raise his hand (or cane) to a child, all hell would break loose. Parents too often "rescue" their kids when they're in trouble due to the guilt associated with working long hours to buy the children everything their little hearts desire to replace the lack of attention to the children due to working too much! Am I the only one that thinks this is nuts?! What ever happened to parents bringing up their children instead of leaving them in the care of teachers/childminders so that they can go off to work to earn money to buy nice things and in the process see their children go down the toilet AND set the example for the children that this is acceptable behaviour! Sheesh!

A delay in producing advanced life sustaining tech, such as alternative energy and rapid desalinization plants. It is self explanatory since it has been in the news often.

My vote for the likeliest such scenarion would be a major eruption like Krakatoa in 1888. If the world's crops were devastated for a year due to worldwide darkening from volcanic dust, the present world's population of going-on 7 billion would be extremely hard pressed to feed itself. Major eruptions have been the commonest disaster in recent centuries.

Especially Western nations, the concept of the Olduvai Theory comes into play where the population outpaces natural resources and society collapses sharply with a massive die-off. First, IMO economic collapse ensues because the population growth excedes the ability to create new jobs that pay enough to support the average person or family. The result is an ever increasing sector of people who must combine incomes in order to live. When even this is no longer possible, crime rates will rise and urban cities decline.

Every year a new generation larger than the one before becomes primarily interested in entering the workforce. When the availability of new jobs becomes less than the available manpower, we will start a long road to economic collapse that will be accelerated by large national debts and trade imbalances. Furthermore, when creditors see dollar economies fail, they will cash out to posture themselves for the future.

When western nations decline and their military might is abated, a whole new set of rules of global strategy will be enforced where those who sit on the resources will make the rules for a time and all will be caught up in violence in the agendas to get what is left.

Originally posted by Gear
Children. That's right. I am talking about kids. Earlier generations had their children under control. Then those children grew up, and brought up their own children the same way.

Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.

Socrates (470-399 B.C.)


the times, they are a-changin'.

I must say Ime liking the responses to this question but I am surprised that there isn't more weather or earth related opinions. In my view it will be the planet that brings the human race to its knees. Governments will come and go but IMO in the end It will be the planet that decide our future

Plague.....

In the very near future a virus will excape or be intentionally released.
This virus has been specifically designed to attack certain individuals with an genetic signature.

The New dark ages are close at hand.

It's a brave new world; welcome to the monkey house.

Originally posted by The Parallelogram
Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.

Do you think they will grow up to be tyrants?
It's interesting because I was thinking more along the lines of anarchy.

Sure blame it on the kids. Our future generations are gonna have to live with the choices WE made. Don't pin this on children and those who are not even born yet. Todays parent are a bunch of lazy excuses, come on people take responsability into your own hands and stop point fingers.

You obviously didn't bother to read what was said.

Originally posted by Gear
Notions such as political correctness stepped in. As a result, we let our kids run free.

Originally posted by Gear
We have started the downfall of society by the hands of our children and our children's children.

Originally posted by LovingSoul
Kids today are not disciplined nearly enough. They are not taught about consequences.

Originally posted by LovingSoul
What ever happened to parents bringing up their children instead of leaving them ...

No-one has made the accusation that the kids are to blame. We have all blamed ourselves for letting it happen.

Please read the posts properly instead of just skimming over them.



[edit on 10-12-2006 by Gear]

Originally posted by AMANNAMEDQUEST
Sure blame it on the kids. Our future generations are gonna have to live with the choices WE made. Don't pin this on children and those who are not even born yet. Todays parent are a bunch of lazy excuses, come on people take responsability into your own hands and stop point fingers.

Serious breach of parental contract, to consume as though there's no tomorrow, televise hedonistic conscienceless gratification 24 hours a day that act as electronic babysitters for those who toil at earning the only status they feel seperates them from those they have been condoned to hate and leave a planet exhausted and corrupted with waste - then blame the offspring.

It will be wars, and innundation of the coastlines. Port cities still negotiate international trade, without them the global economy collapses.

Originally posted by Gear
Do you think they will grow up to be tyrants?
It's interesting because I was thinking more along the lines of anarchy.

no, i'm just saying that kids have been the same way for a long, long time. every generation thinks the one following it is hopelessly out of control.

So this is turning into a kid bashing thread. "Darn Teenagers! Get off my Lawn!"

If anything, I think kids today are too conservative. Too much into money and possessions. Universities are losing their radical bite and becoming merely Job Training Facilities.

A bit of that 1960's-70's Outrage and Energy.
It does Society good to have a bit of that dynamic conflict going on.

Originally posted by The Parallelogram
Children today are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food, and tyrannize their teachers.

Socrates (470-399 B.C.)

Ok, stop the Train! Time Out!

Children= Tyrants? What twisted logic are we useing here?

This is starting to sound like an "Attck of the Killer Kids" thread.

Ok, SOME of today's children do get in trouble. However, there are thousands or even millions of children that are trying to make the world BETTER! Where are they in this discussion? Here in my area, we have scouts who do things like colllect food and clothing for needy families, or youth organization that volinteer in local soup kitichens and homeless shelters.

Generally young children are MORE open minded than Adults. Secondly, Hate, disrespect, and viloence are all LEARNED behaviors. So, now I will ask you:

Do you still think children are all that bad? If so, where are the LEARNING it from?

Blaming isn't so much fun when it involvs a mirror, is it?

Tim

[edit on 11-12-2006 by Ghost01]

However, there are thousands or even millions of children that are trying to make the world BETTER! Where are they in this discussion?

Ding ding ding. He just arrived.


Gear,

As a teenager, I don't think that children are going to cause the end of the world.

I'm with you on the politically correct bs. Believe it or not, there are plenty of kids that think just like you. Us children that were fortunate to have two parents, including a mom that stayed at home, look down on the other attention-deficit crowd of children with the same distain as you. Perhaps our numbers are fewer than theirs, but isn't all of society like that? You've got a large number of poor people working for low wages to serve the higher-class intelligent people. Society couldn't function unless there were grunts that were willing to wallow in their own filth to make the world a better place for the rest of us.

You don't have to worry about those kinds of children running the political world, because they don't have the desire or the knowledge to get there. Heck, I have people in my class who hold prominant positions in political parties working for the MP (Member of parliment) or MPP (Member of provicial parliment). Someone I know just got a Christmas card from the Prime Minister. Trust me, the ones that will end up with the power are not the ones that you see running around being morons. Those ones will end up working for minimum wage. The children who have been brainwashed by political correctness and "You are special and your opinion matters" are going nowhere.

If anything, we young people can't wait to try to change the world around. Some of us look up at current world affairs and how "adults" are running the world, and can't wait until it is our turn to try and change things around.

The main message I am trying to get across here is that the next generation is going to do just fine, don't worry. I speak and talk and think just like you. Please don't discriminate based on age. I have seen a lot of 30 year olds who are about as mature as 12 year olds, and vice versa.


Anyway, on to how I think society will fall:

During my stay here on ATS for the past few years, I have become rather skeptical about a lot of things. You get disappointed by claims over and over, and you start to not pay attention. But the one thing that keeps getting stronger and stronger in my mind is a sense of unrest in the world that grows and grows. I am now fairly confident that I will definately see WWIII within my lifetime, and it is going to be absolutely insane. This will probably be caused simply by the ongoing tension in all of the world. I feel that the next World War will hit North American soil for the first time since Independance. I can see it happening as close as the next recession (which will likely be early next year.)

While I don't believe that Global Warming is man-made or influenced in any way that actually makes an impact (but that is a debate for another thread), I do think that eventually there will be another ice age. Maybe not for a few more hundred years, but it's overdue to start again soon. If all of America is covered with ice, you can bet they aren't just going to sit and try to rebuild when all their buildings are 50 feet under snow. They are going to move South and attack/claim some new land.

Then there is always natural disaster on a massive scale. Meteors, earthquakes, giant tsunamis that sweep across the world. However, I feel that this will bring what is left of society afterwards even closer together, rather than plunging them into war. At least at first.

I don't know what is going to happen. All I know is that I am ready for all hell to break loose. It definately sounds better than sitting in an office cubible for the rest of my life.

My theory,

An alien race will attempt to control the population by disrpting our ability to mate. They will cross connect male sexual drives with aggressive ones, causing us to violently attack, and kill women. The only way to stem this aggression will be through chemical castration, which will also prevent reproduction.

Okay, I have to admit, I got that from an episode of Masters of Horror called the screwfly solution. Good episode though.