Great point by Tony Blair

[Aubs]

There are times when I want out, but there's no where to go!

Of course, we're not yet the longest running civilization in history, that honor goes to the Egyptians for having an empire that lasted 3,000 years.

I think it's always interesting to read articles on the collapse of societies. Tainter I think is one of the better accepted and well known.

"According to Tainter, societies become more complex as they try to solve problems. Social complexity can include differentiated social and economic roles, reliance on symbolic and abstract communication, and the existence of a class of information producers and analysts who are not involved in primary resource production. Such complexity requires a substantial "energy" subsidy (meaning resources, or other forms of wealth). When a society confronts a "problem," such as a shortage of or difficulty in gaining access to energy, it tends to create new layers of bureaucracy, infrastructure, or social class to address the challenge... In Tainter's view, while invasions, crop failures, disease or environmental degradation may be the apparent causes of societal collapse, the ultimate cause is diminishing returns on investments in social complexity "

I suppose the reason we have not become an Empire is because of the adundant resources available in our own domestic territories. And imperialism never really worked for anyone. My guess is it became too complicated to be worthwhile. It will be interesting to see how current energy issues will affect the future actions of world nations. Thankfully, we are not the major resource for oil. And any attempt to conquer any future ethanol or hydrogen production would probably result in infrastructure destruction, making the attempt futile.

Oh man, I can't believe I wrote all that. It must be late.