Cycles of Change

Complex societies operate through multi-party transactions that require trust to function. When trust degrades, these systems do not fail linearly. They collapse multiplicatively. Understanding this mechanism explains why institutional decay accelerates during periods of social upheaval and why [...]

The palaces of Mycenaean Greece burned for days in 1200 BC. For four centuries afterward, the Greek world descended into a dark age so profound that the art of writing itself was lost. The sophisticated bureaucracy of the warrior-kings crumbled into memory. Villages forgot how to build with stone. [...]

Economic collapse unfolds as a process rather than a singular event. Historical patterns demonstrate that populations typically fail to recognize deteriorating conditions until crisis becomes undeniable. This failure stems not from lack of information but from predictable psychological responses [...]