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26. Going Full Circle
Shall we assume that capitalism and Christianity, as
allies, can generate perpetual prosperity and make the
weather perfect every day? Not necessarily. Not as
long as free will operates. The British historian and
professor at Edinburgh University, Alexander Fraser
Tytler, writing at the time of the American Revolution
and describing the collapse of the ancient democracies
of Athens and Rome, provided this warning:
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent
form ofgovernment It can only exist until the
voters discover they can vote themselves largess
out of the public treasury. From that moment
on, the majority always votes for the candidates
promising the most benefits from the public
treasury
--
with the result that democracy
collapses under the weight ofloose fiscal policy,
always to be followed by a dictatorship.
Is there a definite cycle that most civilizations have
historically gone through? Yes. Historians have studied
the rise and fall of great civilizations and have
concluded two things. First, they have identified a
definite cycle. Secondly, 21 of the 23 literally
''decayed
from within"--
becoming easy prey to predator nations.
The cycle they have identified contains the following
steps:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith
2. From spiritual faith to great courage
3. From courage to liberty
--
freedom
4. From freediJm to initiative
--
produdion
5.
From produdion to abundance
6. From abundance to selfishness
7.
From selfishness to complacency
8. From complacency to apathy
9. From apathy to dependence
10. From dependence back to bondage
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