As someone who consumes a lot of ancient history, it can also make you like “Ah yes, another city rises, another is displaced by climate disaster, and another falls due to land mismanagement. ‘Tis the way of things.”
this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024
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It's true. I wonder how many ancient Babylonians, Greeks, Chinese, Egyptians, Persians, Romans thought:
"Surely, this empire will last forever! Look upon our works, ye mighty, and despair!" (EDIT: LOL It appears we're all of one mind remembering this poem. We must be doing something right. XD)
Especially in modern times it's insanely difficult to imagine the geopolitics shifting drastically, but it's happened before, it's happening now. The difference being that the rest of the globe is now much more invested in your shenanigans with your neighbors, but it's still happening.
What does one do amidst a regime change?
I'm glad I've never had to seriously consider it until now. ...but it unnerves me that I probably need to start.
You forgot an important difference between ancient history and now. Now, when the empire falls it has the power to take the biosphere with it.
I really have begun to believe that politicians should employ historians to give advice on certain political events by drawing comparisons to previous situations.
That only really works in a benevolent dictatorship. In a democracy, the masses can vote for reality-rejection candidates.
It's a pity democracy seems to be better than all the alternatives in practice, cause in principle there should be ways to improve things more. Inevitably though all other forms turn into draconian crap. Well, democracy does sometimes too, but less often.
What's odd about today's "democracy" is how increasingly little government itself matters, next to corporations that are stronger than nations.
Government could choose to reign these corporations in, but the money the give officials makes them choose not too
"It's okay, I'll enjoy my retirement long before corporations start buying literal states, springing up company towns, employing workers younger than my current children, and buying and selling people via contracts, whilst waging open war with drones and wageslave conscripts." --Most Politicians as they watch their green line go up, probably
Right, so whether they "can't" or simply "won't", either way they don't, and the problem just grows and grows with no bounds.
It's like democracy is the least bad system...
A well crafted political system is one that stays uncorrupted the longest (or can recover less violently from corruption).
Because corporations are not democratic
Sure, we have democratic political systems, but the economic systems are very much not. Since when can you vote un your workplace? It your boss tells you to do something, you do it, or risk losing your livelihood, the thing that you depend upon for survival
That's not very democratic
In the past, let's use the USA as an example, we've had both "business" side-by-side with "government", with the role of the latter often thought of as to balance and foster the true spirit of the former. Keeping the worst excesses of business at bay, and doing things like scientific research that spurs innovation within the realm of business, were both considered the realm of government.
But times change, and now the role of government is getting smaller and smaller, while the roles of corporations are looming larger and larger - there are even businesses that provide a place to live for their employees!
Anyway, businesses were never democratic, but it used to not matter so much when business was merely the place where you worked, while government took care of you at home. Whereas now, they are taking on increasing prominence in people's lives in terms of dictating every single aspect of life - e.g. government healthcare (Medicare & Medicaid) is dying (being killed) off, leaving only business as the provider of "healthcare" available to people - which is what ObamaCare was trying to fight against.
So we still "have" democracy... technically, it's just that it matters less and less as the role of government is continually diminished, and powerful corporations greedily take all the power available unto themselves.
"The Official Committee of Learning From Previous Blunders" lol what-if.
Well you know what "they" say: those who study their history - FUCK! - still end up repeating it, when nobody else around does the same.:-(
Hegel remarks somewhere[*] that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce
cries in enviro. sci
Weird, that's also the only thing my Politic Science degree has ever gotten me!
geopolitics included?
Geopolitics is technically geography iirc.
History majors rise up