From: Ed Weick <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>I read Tainter's paper on complexity. The thought that struck me when I
>read it was that societies need not disintegrate nor become chaotic nor
leap
>to a higher plane, they can simply ossify, get stuck, and become capable of
>only the most incremental progress. Eventually, but usually over a long
There are no doubt many factors that determine whether civilizations
collapse slowly like Rome or quickly like the FSU and ex-Yugoslavia. I
believe a large factor is ethnic homogeneity. After all, our culture
demands that we find someone else to blame. It's another positive feedback
if the scapegoats are within our own borders.
Jay
