The Disintegration of Civilizations

Dr Arnold Toynbee on the breakdown and eventual disintegration of civilizations.

Dr Arnold Toynbee, the great 20th Century historian, observed that the breakdown and eventual disintegration of civilizations, for the most part, follow a common pattern. The ruling class, who once were able to creatively respond to challenges on behalf of the masses, lose their ability to inspire and lead. The masses become estranged from these leaders, the leaders, in turn, turn to rigidity, coercion and force to retain power. The loss of social cohesion, moral unity, and the capacity for self-determination brings a civilization to collapse. Toynbee characterizes such a fragmented and disintegrating civilization in terms of an internal and external proletariat and corresponding psychological schisms in the souls of those living through such times. It is these characteristics we will explore in this video, in the hope of drawing some parallels with today’s socio-political situation in the West.