All good things must come to an end. Whether societies are ruled by ruthless dictators or more well-meaning representatives, they fall apart in time, with different degrees of severity.
In a new paper, anthropologists examined a broad, global sample of 30 pre-modern societies. They found that when “good” governments – ones that provided goods and services for their people and did not starkly concentrate wealth and power – fell apart, they broke down more intensely than collapsing despotic regimes.
The researchers found a common thread in the collapse of good governments: leaders who undermined and broke from upholding core societal principles, morals, and ideals. [Read more…] about When good governments go bad