Hacker News Reader

The exact opposite of this is true. Great leaps forward in Civilization have come from things like Empire, explicitly run by hereditary ruling classes, and technological advances. In today’s world the latter now eclipses the former. There’s no reason, in my mind, to think that that ratio will (or should) remain.

View on HN

"To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp, they call empire; and where they make a desert they call peace."

and yet the largest improvements in life quality have occurred in the last century, when most of the great empires have fallen.

And you attribute this fact entirely - as in 100% - to the fall of Empires, and not the technological advancements that happened in parallel?

I find it strikingly hard to believe that democracy, which is what I assume you’re referring to, is the actual imperative that caused this. If we had managed to avoid WWI it’s really difficult to imagine that we’d still be using a horse drawn buggy and a typewriter.

Eh? Does the sun ever set on American military bases?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com