500 Years Of Big Cycles: The Top
Lesson summary:
The lesson summary is about the rise and decline of empires due to factors such as reduced competitiveness, decadence, financial bubbles, wealth gaps, excessive borrowing, and military conflicts. As a country becomes more prosperous, people tend to enjoy more leisure and pursue less productive things, which may lead to decadence. The wealth gap grows between the rich and the poor, causing resentment among the less well-off who feel the system is unfair. Borrowing excessively contributes to a country’s weakened financial health over the long-term. The cost of maintaining and defending an empire may become greater than the revenue it brings in, leading to an unprocessed state. The richer countries eventually get deeper into debt by borrowing from poor countries that save more, which is an early sign of a wealth and power shift.
