Why societies collapse— and what it means for us

Dr. Joseph Tainter, author of Collapse of Complex Societies, explains why societies collapse. In a nutshell, they become complex for a good reason but in the end that complexity causes the society to collapse. Much confusion can be avoided if you understand that Tainter uses the term "sustainability" not as we generally understand it but to mean "maintainability" as in maintaining the same standard of living. A couple of things that Tainter doesn't touch on is overpopulation and that the entire world can be seen as one empire compromising world elites and led by US elites and the US military.