Abstract
Many societies have come and gone, often leaving behind them parts of their built environment. This chapter looks at the theories of why these societies have collapsed, first drawing on literature in the fields of archaeology and anthropology. By understanding why earlier societies have collapsed, the hope is it will be possible to avoid the same at the time of the global challenges outlined in Chap. 1. One issue behind the societal collapse is that solving problems tends to lead to an increase in complexity. The theory of resilience is also examined and compared to the theories of collapse. Resilience theory shows that change is happening all the time and it is necessary to try to have a constant output from a system that will be changing with its fluctuating context. Together these ideas suggest that complex systems cannot increase in complexity for ever. If the answer to a societal problem leads to an increase in complexity then it is essential to ensure that the solution offers a marginal return for the effort involved. Collapse is a predictable outcome when marginal returns are negative.
Is an empire
the light that goes out
or a firefly?
Jorge Luis Borges
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Garcia, E., Vale, B., Vale, R. (2021). What Can We Learn from the Collapse of Societies in the Past?. In: Collapsing Gracefully: Making a Built Environment that is Fit for the Future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77783-8_3
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