Many of the phenomena we today describe as decadent or signs of decline—phenomena we fear might one day destroy our civilization—look very different when examined more closely. The developments that provoke the strongest emotions, and that are usually dismissed with labels such as “softness” or “hedonism,” are in fact part of long-term and largely natural historical trends. The real problem is not their existence, but the way they are often imposed too quickly, too aggressively, or in an atmosphere of ideological fanaticism.
The genuine threat of civilizational collapse comes from elsewhere. It arises from trends that have appeared only in the last generation: the spread of irrational thinking, the revival of superstition, the erosion of serious education, attacks on scientific reasoning, and even assaults on the principle of the equal dignity of all human beings.
By coincidence, I recently studied several successful programs that introduce children to natural sciences and basic technology already in primary school—sometimes even in kindergarten—mostly in countries of Southeast Asia. These programs share one crucial feature. Children are first taught methods: how to think, how to reason, how to test ideas. Only later are they given large amounts of factual information about the world.
This approach is not merely sound. It is indispensable.
It is precisely such habits of mind that separate rational citizens from intellectual primitives. Simply believing that the Earth is not flat does not make me more educated than someone who believes it is. It only means that I happened to memorize a different statement, which is largely a matter of chance. I become a rational person only when I am able to demonstrate clearly and convincingly why the Earth cannot be flat. And that demonstration must not rest on my personal feelings or life experiences, but on disciplined, almost mathematical reasoning.
This is the true dividing line between a growing civilization and a declining one. It is also one of the great strengths of an industrial society: industrial production itself demands and reinforces these patterns of thought. A society that builds machines, systems, and infrastructure cannot survive without respect for evidence, method, and reason. When those habits disappear, decline is no longer a theory. It becomes a certainty.