Victor David Hanson is accurate more often than not. In this instance I am greatly disappointed with his view on the income tax:
A tax on income destroyed the greatest form of government ever devised; so progressives could transform it into an extremely complex society they controlled. It is the income tax that is causing our society to unwind.
Hanson asks:
Pathology is not the answer:
The answer is not a deviation from the normal condition. The answer is parasites who typified the normal human condition since mankind’s beginning. Parasites are the enemy that lived, breathed, and bred within the gates of every empire, every civilization, every nation, every culture, every form of government, and every society that ever was. Parasites will remain the norm until human nature is changed for the better in every man, woman, and child on Earth.
What is less-known is that it has been impossible to prove that parasites brought down every society from within. Century after century historians, philosophers, priests, soldiers, and intellectuals recite the same reasons for a decline and fall —— immorality, hiring mercenaries to do the fighting, greed, a corrupt ruling class, too much liberty, not enough liberty, sloth, or a combination of those reasons.
The day is yet to come when historians, philosophers, priests, soldiers, and intellectuals prove that every empire, every civilization, every nation, every culture, every form of government, and every society that was ever born, matured, and died was destroyed by parasites from within.
Finally, approximately 30 percent of the population constitute the parasite class. The vast majority of that 30 percent do not want freedom from government; they want only to be fed, housed, clothed, and have their illnesses treated without working for any of it. The parasite class is more than pleased with society as it is —— the parasite class is infinitely more pleased with where they are taking society.
. . . an unwillingness to pay taxes and the end of the rule of law.
. . . when citizens do not pay any income taxes, or choose not to pay taxes that they owe and expect impunity, a complex society unwinds.
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. . . when citizens do not pay any income taxes, or choose not to pay taxes that they owe and expect impunity, a complex society unwinds.
A tax on income destroyed the greatest form of government ever devised; so progressives could transform it into an extremely complex society they controlled. It is the income tax that is causing our society to unwind.
Hanson asks:
Why did Rome and Byzantium fall apart after centuries of success? What causes civilizations to collapse, from a dysfunctional 4th-century-B.C. Athens to contemporary bankrupt Greece?
The answer is usually not enemies at the gates, but the pathologies inside them.
The answer is usually not enemies at the gates, but the pathologies inside them.
Pathology is not the answer:
pathology (noun)
plural pathologies
Abbr. path., pathol.
1. The scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences. Also called pathobiology.
2. The anatomic or functional manifestations of a disease: the pathology of cancer.
3. A departure or deviation from a normal condition: "Neighborhoods plagued by a self-perpetuating pathology of joblessness, welfare dependency, crime" (Time).
plural pathologies
Abbr. path., pathol.
1. The scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences. Also called pathobiology.
2. The anatomic or functional manifestations of a disease: the pathology of cancer.
3. A departure or deviation from a normal condition: "Neighborhoods plagued by a self-perpetuating pathology of joblessness, welfare dependency, crime" (Time).
The answer is not a deviation from the normal condition. The answer is parasites who typified the normal human condition since mankind’s beginning. Parasites are the enemy that lived, breathed, and bred within the gates of every empire, every civilization, every nation, every culture, every form of government, and every society that ever was. Parasites will remain the norm until human nature is changed for the better in every man, woman, and child on Earth.
What ruins societies is well known: too much consumption and not enough production, a debased currency and endemic corruption.
Victor Davis Hanson: How Civilizations Collapse — Is U.S. Next?
BY VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
05/06/2015 06:19 PM ET
Victor Davis Hanson How Civilizations Collapse Is U.S. Next - Investors.com
BY VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
05/06/2015 06:19 PM ET
Victor Davis Hanson How Civilizations Collapse Is U.S. Next - Investors.com
What is less-known is that it has been impossible to prove that parasites brought down every society from within. Century after century historians, philosophers, priests, soldiers, and intellectuals recite the same reasons for a decline and fall —— immorality, hiring mercenaries to do the fighting, greed, a corrupt ruling class, too much liberty, not enough liberty, sloth, or a combination of those reasons.
The day is yet to come when historians, philosophers, priests, soldiers, and intellectuals prove that every empire, every civilization, every nation, every culture, every form of government, and every society that was ever born, matured, and died was destroyed by parasites from within.
Finally, approximately 30 percent of the population constitute the parasite class. The vast majority of that 30 percent do not want freedom from government; they want only to be fed, housed, clothed, and have their illnesses treated without working for any of it. The parasite class is more than pleased with society as it is —— the parasite class is infinitely more pleased with where they are taking society.
