…the age of affluence
Sir John Bagot Glubbs book „The fate of empires and search for survival“ deals with the rise and decline of empires throughout our recorded history. His theory states that each empire has roughly the duration of 10 generations or 250 years during this time each empire would go through 6 stages that he identified as follows:
- the age of pioneers (outburst)
- the age of conquests
- the age of commerce
- the age of affluence
- the age of intellect
- the age of decadence
Our empire has acquired immense amounts of wealth. Money stands in the middle of everything and determines most peoples daily lives. Values and driving factors like courage, honor and sense of duty slowly deteriorate and disappear. New born generations are faced with the requirement to exceed others in earning money. A rising part of new pupils guided by the parents is choosing courses that allow them to earn higher salaries. The need to achieve a higher score often leads to a world view that allows the goal to justify the means. Slowly morals and ethic ground rules are put into question, are being watered up and loose significance. Foreign policy is often altered from an aggressive to a pragmatic approach. Enemies might be bought off rather than fought off, making the militarys primary goal the defense of the nation.
Since the nation is most likely inherently more wealthy than the surrounding states, the fear of loosing what is owned is greater than the prospect of acquiring new assets. To retain rather than conquer seems to be the main principal. This change in concept also leads to a change in philosophy. The conception that it is immoral and uncivilized to conquer other countries for personal gain is widely accepted and grows.
Occasionally economic and trade related binds to neighbor states are a determining factor in the search for a peaceful solution. As it would hurt business the reluctance to fight often also leads to a certain degree of disarmament. The transition from the age of commerce to the age of affluence represents the peak of the nation in many ways. Morally stable military, strong, wealthy and proud, outside observers often fail to notice the smoldering decay of morals, growing greed for money and the general change from service to selfishness that lead through the age of affluence to the age of intellect.
