The West’s Most Dangerous Illusion

Believing the pendulum will never swing back has left us unprepared for the violent return history always delivers.

This is the first long-form essay I’ve put behind the paywall at Beyond Collapse.
Until now, everything I’ve written here has been open to everyone. That won’t change for most of my work — the bulk of what I publish will remain free. But some essays, guides, and deeper dives will be for those who’ve chosen to back this project with a paid subscription. This is my way of giving something extra to the people making it possible.

If you’re already one of them, you have my thanks. This piece is for you. It runs close to two thousand words and distills months of thinking into one sustained argument: how seemingly trivial cultural absurdities reveal the decay of the system, why history shows that unbalanced power always overreaches, how the digital flood has made us dumber not smarter, why real culture can’t be replaced with slogans, and what disciplined builders should be doing now instead of burning themselves out. It’s the kind of work I can only do with time, focus, and the knowledge that someone values it enough to help keep it going.

If you’re reading this on the free side of the wall and want access to this essay — and future ones like it — you’re welcome to join. You’ll get the full text, plus other in-depth work I don’t put out in public. More importantly, you’ll be helping keep the rest of this project open to anyone who needs to hear a different voice.

Now, on to the essay.