Preview

What Are The Causes Of Civilization Doomed To Collapse

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1306 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Are The Causes Of Civilization Doomed To Collapse
The common topic of debate that is if all civilizations are doomed to collapse because it hold the ability to prevent or slow down the collapse of any civilization. Historians such as Tainter (In Collapse and Sustainability: Rome, the Maya, and the Modern World)and Greer (In How Civilizations Fall: A Theory of Catabolic Collapse) have created analyzing both fallen and modern civilizations, both of these authors believe to some extent that a lack of resources is the beginning cause of a collapse of a civilization. There are some historians that believe that not all civilizations are doomed to collapse due to that previous civilizations were not able to properly and accurately handle their problems and as long as you sustain stability than …show more content…
To retaliate this crisis the civilization would need to find a suitable amount of resources to balance the economy returning the civilization to a stable state, but if the consumption of resources is greater than the income of the resources the civilization will fall under a depletion crisis which has “amplified” certain features t maintenance crisis according to Mr. Greer. These are the crisis’s that have caused certain historical civilizations to crash and burn such as the Western Roman Empire. Greer said that the fall of Rome “was a catabolic collapse driven by a combined maintenance and resource crisis. While the ancient Mediterranean world, like imperial China, was primarily dependent on readily replenished resources, the Empire itself was the product of an anabolic cycle fueled by easily depleted resources and driven by Roman military superiority.” (Greer page 8) As Greer has shown the fall of the roman empire was due to lack of maintenance and available resources because rome was an empire that thrived upon the taking over of other countries but rome encountered powerful tribes in the north that did not have much valuable resources so it was using more energy than resources it was receiving causing it to have a lack of resources and maintenance in …show more content…
Tainter also writes near the end how it possible that not all civilizations are doomed if the civilizations can overcome the possibility to lower their complexity which he talks about being a possible way to prevent collapse. Although Tainter does signafy that this would be very difficult if not

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are many factors that contribute to either the success or struggles of a civilization. Some of the factors are population, economics, resources, and many others. In the book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, the civilization of Eurasia is examined in detail in order to reveal why Eurasia was ultimately successful. Diamond argues that Eurasia was successful because of their agriculture, geography, and their immunity to germs, which I agree with.…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The long decline of the Western Roman Empire was caused by the accumulation of the many obstacles that stood in their way over time. At first the Roman Empire was thriving. It was the biggest empire at the time and it expanded at an incredible speed. Their military and leadership capabilities were magnificent. When confronted by the Roman military their enemies were better off giving up and not even trying; it wasn’t worth it. In time, however, the Roman Empire’s golden age expired, they stopped conquering and internal drawbacks began to appear. The once flourishing Roman Empire began to face many problems, like military incapacity, the growth of Christianity, and unemployment, all of which contributed in a different way to the decline of the Empire.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    DBQ: The Rise Of Rome

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Roman Empire, one of the biggest empires of the ancient world, was a strong and growing empire. However, it fell after many years of glory. Why did it fall? Was it because of attacks, failing economy, many unemployed? These all lead to one point, expansion. Or was it struggles over power? Even though the Roman Empire got more land, resources, and labor from expanding, the expansion led to the thinning out of resources and power, as well as a failing economy due to unemployed plebeians; lastly Rome’s defenses were weakened.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There were many reasons for the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Each document in this essay explains a different reason. Some causes were: political, economic, social, and military differences and problems. Basically, the problem was that the gap between the rich aristocrats and the poor serfs got bigger and bigger; the rich got richer as the poor got poorer. Also, when something grows, it always falls back down. In Document 1, an excerpt from a book was taken out. According to the authors, the basic problems facing the Western Roman Empire came from the people that gave up devotion to the old civilization and didn't believe that it was worth saving. Why should they care about their land if they weren't allowed to take part in government say, they couldn't form groups to protect themselves, and were even excluded from their own army? The practically jobless people realized that their cities were slowly falling, but no one bothered to stop their decline; it was something that had to happen. The loss of popular support to the oppressive government, increased government corruption, division of the empire, and internal power struggles were some political causes that led to the fall of Rome. In Document 2, two causes for the fall of Rome were: the large size, and the introduction to Christianity. Because the Empire grew too large, it became uneasy to control. It was inevitable for the fall to occur, no matter how much anyone tried. Jesus' introduction to Christianity also started a change. The clergy (priests) helped change the moral values of society. It no longer mattered much, and military power was buried or thrown away. The rich's wealth was taken away and given to charity (poor). In Document 3, the Muller's explanation for the decline was an economic issue. As the Empire grew stronger, so did economy. When the Empire started to decline, business ceased and there was little progress, so that also crashed along with the empire itself. Slavery caused another…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Empire Dbq Analysis

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    For example in document 1, According to the authors, the problems facing the Western Roman Empire came from the people that gave up on the civilization and…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Roman empire and the Han dynasty were both very successful and powerful civilizations but ended due…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The article, “America’s ‘Oh Sh*t!’ Moment” is about the rapid collapse of civilizations, and how America is at risk to meet a similar end. The author gives reasons as to why America is at risk for an imminent collapse, and how they can stop it. He proves this sudden collapsing of a civilization by giving many examples of civilizations that have collapsed in the past, such as, Machu Picchu; the lost city of the Incas, the Roman Empire, Ming Dynasty’s rule in China, the Soviet Union, North Africa and the Middle East. All civilizations share similar characteristics that eventually led to their sudden downfall. For example, they all once had strong social systems supporting their economy and government, and then suddenly collapsed as a result of internal division and external invasion. The thesis of the article was not openly stated, but it was implied pretty clearly. The author states, “In my view, civilizations don’t rise, fall, and then gently decline, as inevitable and predictably as the four seasons or the seven ages of man. History isn’t one smooth, parabolic curve after another. Its shape is more like an exponentially steepening slope that quite…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    World Civ Paper

    • 330 Words
    • 1 Page

    In 700 BCE the Rome was founded. The city of Rome became the center of one of the world’s greatest empires. As years went on, the Roman Empire began to decline. There were many events that led to this decline. The primary reasons for the “fall” of Rome were natural disasters, economic troubles, and a series of military failures. The natural disasters that struck Rome were the plague and an earthquake. The earthquake was the first to strike Rome in 336 CE (Doc F). This caused the Mediterranean shores to become dry due to the retreat of the sea. The tide soon returned and resulted in an immense flood in which fifty thousand people lost their lives. Following the earthquake tragedy, a series of plagues arrived in Rome. It brought diseases from southern Asia to areas such as the Mediterranean (Doc F). These diseases demolished the Roman population. The population decreased from a million people to 250,000 people (Doc F).The economic issues that surrounded Rome resulted from the plagues. The difficulty of troop recruitment forced the empire to hire Germanic soldiers to guard its frontiers (Doc F). The need to pay troops added to the demand on the state’s budget. This was during the time in which the declining production cut into tax revenues (Doc F).The most important reason for the fall of Rome were the series of military failures. In 410 CE, Rome was sacked by the invading German tribe called the Visigoths. In 455 CE, Rome was sacked by Vandals-another German tribe. Finally, Rome falls to Goths which was also a German tribe. These losses were due to lack of armor. The customary armor seemed to be heavy since the soldiers rarely ever wore it so they fought the Goths without any protection (Doc B). Overall, there were many events that led to the potential fall of the Roman Empire.…

    • 330 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Rome Fell Dbq

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages

    One example of why Rome fell because of loss of people is in the Background Essay, “When a goal appears to have been reached, it is easy to get lazy. The evidence for this was a love of luxury, a decline in the quality of literature, even a decision in the upper class to have fewer children because child raising was a bother.” This means that the population of Rome most likely got smaller and smaller because people agreed to not have as many kids. Also, Rome would not have any soldiers to fight for them when these kids grow up and even if they did, it would be very few. Having a small military is not good at all and could lead to people taking you over. This could eventually lead to the fall of Rome. Another reason as to why Rome weakened because of a decreasing population is, “There can be little doubt that the weaknesses of the late Roman army were largely due to the eventual failure... to enforce regular conscription... the exempted categories were... Numerous.” (Doc B) This means that Rome had so little people that they needed people very badly to help in their military. For a civilization as big as Rome, they cannot afford to be staggering in numbers with their military and it will lead to the fall of Rome. Finally, a reason as to why Rome fell because of loss of people is n Document F, “The resulting diseases decimated the population. The population of Rome decreased from a million people, to…

    • 1010 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ancient China and Egypt were very successful empires; however, there were also some setbacks keeping them from great success. Some of these barriers were due to the selfish rulers, weak armies, and the landscape. These early setbacks in civilizations were difficult to manage and effectively brought upon their downfall.…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Roman Empire was one of the most advanced and largest civilizations with their amazing architecture, astonishing inventions and many more. But Nothing can last forever. The fall of the roman empire was caused by four main reasons. Political issues or an unstable government, Economic problems, Diseases could have played a part and lastly, foreign invaders.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Empire Flaws

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The ancient world was marked by many successful and great civilizations and their equally great falls from power. Perhaps the most grand of failures in this time was that of the Roman Empire. After the death of Marcus Aurelius, an empire that had stood strong for centuries began its long, painful decline which lasted almost three centuries. No one person could possibly be blamed for this progression of abasement in the empire, but rather the entire Roman population. There were multiple political, economic, military, and social causes of the fall of the Roman Empire.…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The first main reason reason that Rome fell was because of its economy. The economy was a main issue because of the rising taxes. This led to economic hardship, driving people out of the empire. Another reason that this is an issue is because people had to pay for justice. Poor people were punished more for their crimes, while a rich man was not. All those problems drove people out of here empire, weakening it.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fall of the Roman Empire

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the first place one of the main reasons to the fall of the Roman empire was the econmoy started to decline. In the thirst century sources started to dissapear. During the Pax Romana, trade was all over the routes watched by Roman legions and ships Romes treasures qwew ameliorated by gold and silver from the conqured territories. Empire farms grew tons of grain, enough to feed the whole population. During the third century all of these three sources of sucess dissapeared. This reflects the Roman empire started out strong but it started to fall which lead to the disapearance of the three sources. Romans didnt make the money they use to make to help the ecnomoy out. The wealthy spent money on luxery goods and the goverment tried to pay off expenses. Wealthy spent their money on things they wanted in China, Arabia, and India. Instead of spending money on staples which is needed goods they spent it on luxery goods which was things they wanted such as gold, marble, honey, wine, leather, perfume, diamonds, jewls, tigers, carpets, ect. The continual importing of those luxery goods contribute to Romes decaying society because they would be in debt with the other country. There was drainage to the empire of gold and silver. There was no new sources of metal since the empire expansion ended. Goverment raised the taxes to pay of the…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Roman Empire was one of the biggest and most powerful empires of it’s time. Reaching from Greece to Egypt, the empire was bound to fall. The collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 A.D can be attributed to many social causes, such as the introduction of Buddhism, political causes, such as weak leaders, an economic causes, such as inflation.…

    • 571 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics