On Sep 22, 2013, at 11:03 PM, Gar Lipow <gar.lipow at gmail.com> wrote:
> Good critique - one quibble, caveat? I think you are right about
> decadence, but Adam Smith long ago said "Great nations have a lot of ruin
> in them." If I remember the context correctly, I think that means a great
> nation or empire can make self-destructive short sighted decisions for a
> long time before it actually loses power.
I think of that quote often. Yes.