Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the most efficient way to obliterate a civilization is with double standards. The stronger the double standards, the sooner that civilization will collapse into violence, poverty, and want. The reason is that perverse incentives cause crime and violence. The chaos then destabilizes the economy and societal cohesion. Once that step is well underway, the entire social contract catches fire and is gone in moments. Then that civilization will become a circular firing squad. History is filled to the brim with examples. Recently in Somalia there was a total civilizational collapse that was largely due to open and notorious double standards. Because once a person knows others are above the law, and he or she is below its protections, there is no reason to follow that law… and every reason not to.
With civilization comes wealth, health, and a rising standard of living. They are not possible in times and places where chaos reigns. Wealth is immediately stolen when law has collapsed unless one is a warlord. In times of unrest, though, even the warlord’s life is in constant peril. When farming is impossible, commerce is out of the question, and crime is rampant… the standard of living drops to subsistence and below. History shows that even in ancient times, when civilization was strong the standard of living rose and when civilizations fell, the standard of living fell also. The troubles caused by Marius and Sulla in ancient Rome were largely due to double standards. One could even argue that it wasn’t the “Sea Peoples” who destroyed the bronze age culture, but a pernicious double standard.
Double standards always creep into all civilizations. The elite, aristocracy, or synod have authority, and it’s human nature to abuse authority. So sooner or later that authority is abused as Thrasymachus said it would… and a double standard is born. Initially it’s hidden by law. Law becomes a tool for the powerful to take from the weak and call it justice. The weak go along initially because they are still under the thrall of the idea of law… “equal justice for all.” This may start in some civilizations as a standard but the people in charge quickly make it a double standard. At this point that civilization goes from being a producing culture to an extractive one. The more extractive and less producing a state is, the greater the double standards needed to enrich the few at the expense of the many.
Once a double standard becomes obvious even to those who want to remain blind, everyone becomes a scofflaw. People only follow the law when the police are around. If the cops aren’t on the take. Public “servants” get enriched by bribery. So nothing gets done unless there is sufficient bribe money. This is often hidden as “legal expenses.” In this case regulation becomes a tool of profit and gate closing. They protect the markets of the powerful and keep the weak from competing. Regulations become a tool of the double standard. In the US, small farmers are going bankrupt at an astonishing rate. Pushed along by regulations that harms them but benefit the politically favored corporate farms. This is in and of itself a form of double standard where one party benefits from regulation while the other is harmed.
History, pragmatism, and common sense all agree that a double standard is the most efficient way to destroy a civilization. War, disease, and famine only collapse a civilization that’s already on the ropes due to a double standard. In Europe during the Dark Ages, the Black Death swept through nations wiping out immense swaths of the population but they didn’t collapse. Because the double standard was held in check by the churches, national competition, and societal norms. A serf was a serf and his or her rights and protections were known and adhered to for the most part. Had some serfs been above the law while others were below its protections, Europe would have collapsed during the Black Death instantly. So when you see a double standard, know that it’s destroying your civilization like a cancer.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
