The fall of the house of Usher,
From 'Detachment'

From 'Detachment' movie

Civilizations are trapped in a vicious circle. They must keep solving the problems of complexity, for that is the price of civilized existence, but every solution creates new, ever more difficult problems, which then require new, ever more demanding solutions. Thus complexity breeds more of the same, and each increase in complexity makes it harder to cope, while at the same time escalating the penalty for failure.

Civilization may be a problem too hard for the human brain to solve. As previously noted, our Paleolithic nervous system was cobbled together by evolution to meet the relatively simple demands of living in small bands of hunter-gatherers. Because we are a clever generalist species, we have nonetheless managed to adapt reasonably well to civilized life. However, once civilization becomes too complex, that adaptation begins to break down—politically, socially, and managerially.

The tedious repetition of financial crises provides a perfect illustration. The financial system is the epitome of a chaotic system, and generation after generation of highly motivated, talented, and well-capitalized individuals in both the public and private sectors have time and again failed to prevent intoxicating booms from becoming devastating busts—and this despite the lessons of economic history, which are quite well understood.

لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ زَمَانٌ، وَلِكُلِّ أَمْرٍ تَحْتَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَقْتٌ:

لِلْوِلاَدَةِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلْمَوْتِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْغرْسِ وَقْتٌ وَلِقَلْعِ الْمَغرُوسِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْقَتْلِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلشِّفَاءِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْهَدْمِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلْبِنَاءِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْبُكَاءِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلضَّحْكِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلنَّوْحِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلرَّقْصِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْمُعَانَقَةِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلانْفِصَالِ عَنِ الْمُعَانَقَةِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْكَسْبِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلْخَسَارَةِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلتَّمْزِيقِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلتَّخْيِيطِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلسُّكُوتِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلتَّكَلُّمِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْحُبِّ وَقْتٌ وَلِلْبُغْضَةِ وَقْتٌ.
لِلْحَربِ وَقْتٌ وَلِلصُّلحِ وَقْتٌ.

فَأَيُّ مَنْفَعَةٍ لِمَنْ يَتْعَبُ فيما يَتْعَبُ بِهِ؟

قُلْتُ فِي قَلْبِي: «فِي أُمُورِ بَنِي الْبَشَرِ، إِنَّ اللهَ يَمْتَحِنُهُمْ لِيُرِيَهُمْ أَنَّهُ كَمَا الْبَهِيمَةِ هكَذَا هُمْ».

لأَنَّ مَا يَحْدُثُ لِبَنِي الْبَشَرِ يَحْدُثُ لِلْبَهِيمَةِ. مَوْتُ هذَا كَمَوْتِ ذَاكَ، وَنَسَمَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ لِلْكُلِّ. فَلَيْسَ لِلإِنْسَانِ مَزِيَّةٌ عَلَى الْبَهِيمَةِ، لأَنَّ كِلَيْهِمَا بَاطِلٌ.
يَذْهَبُ كِلاَهُمَا إِلَى مَكَانٍ وَاحِدٍ. كَانَ كِلاَهُمَا مِنَ التُّرَابِ، وَإِلَى التُّرَابِ يَعُودُ كِلاَهُمَا.
مَنْ يَعْلَمُ رُوحَ بَنِي الْبَشَرِ هَلْ هِيَ تَصْعَدُ إِلَى فَوْق؟ وَرُوحَ الْبَهِيمَةِ هَلْ هِيَ تَنْزِلُ إِلَى أَسْفَلَ، إِلَى الأَرْضِ؟
فَرَأَيْتُ أَنَّهُ لاَ شَيْءَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ أَنْ يَفْرَحَ الإِنْسَانُ بِأَعْمَالِهِ، لأَنَّ ذلِكَ نَصِيبَهُ. لأَنَّهُ مَنْ يَأْتِي بِهِ لِيَرَى مَا سَيَكُونُ بَعْدَهُ؟

مثل أوراقَ الأشجار،
كهذا هي أجيالُ البشر؛
عندما يَهبُّ النسيم، تتساقطُ الأوراق،
وفي الربيعِ تنمو أُخَر؛
كما تَذهبُ الأوراقُ وتَطلُع مجددًا،
كذلك على وجهِ الأرض يَطلعُ البشر

- الإلياذة

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