Is Brexit a telltale sign that our civilisation is about to collapse?
The last couple of years have seen major upsets for established governments around the world – such as the election of Donald Trump, and the Brexit vote in Britain.
Some experts believe that such surprises could have a more serious meaning – and perhaps even herald the collapse of Western civilisation itself.
Speaking to the BBC, Thomas Homer-Dixon of the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada, and author of The Upside of Down, says that such ‘nonlinearities’ are a sign we could be entering a ‘danger zone’.
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Recent ‘nonlinearities’ include the 2008 economic crisis, the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq, Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, Homer-Dixon says.
Other experts suggest that the election of populist politicians can indicate that people are seeking short-term answers to questions – a symptom of deeper-rooted problems.
Arthur Demarest, a professor at Vanderbilt University says, ‘Trump is a symptom more than a cause. It’s the pressure for shorter and shorter term results. It’s what happens when things don’t keep up [with people’s expectations], and people get dissatisfied. The problem is that it can’t be done quickly.
‘You see it in bubbles – the hi-tech bubble – something that’s been successful, but that’s already beginning to undermine the system, leading to collapse
‘It’s more and more expenditure, it’s leaders competing with other leaders, it makes everything more and more fragile.’
