The Fall Of Empires
The Appetite That Consumed Byzantium and the West
Modern society by all reasonable standards has become a society of appetites and consumption. People no longer care about the common good of their society. They are increasingly becoming outwardly and blatantly self interested. The general attitude among the masses is not one of virtue or civic duty, but an attitude of hedonistic pursuits.
The masses care more about what will make them feel happy and less about the state of their society and the rampant corruption within it. The appetites of the many are rotting through institutions meant to preserve their governing structures from falling victim to human greed. The disposition of modern cultural norms are creating an irreversible tear in western social cohesion. When one thinks of himself all day he cares not about his neighbor or his country.
This pattern, although seemingly shocking and self destructive, is more predictable and common than many would even want to believe. This cycle of hedonistic appetites appears throughout known and recorded history during the decline of some of the greatest empires the world has ever known. Why does it happen? Why do empires fall from civic and martial duty and become pits of hedonistic filth?
History, no matter how shocking or unpopular the answer is, tells us this story many times over. Today’s example of the Byzantine Empire one of the most successful and powerful empires in history reveals how a society consumed with itself and its appetites falls.
