Civilization #6: Elite Overproduction and the Bronze Age Collapse
Jiang Xue QinApr 22, 2026Civilizations collapse not from popular revolt, but elite infighting. The widespread Bronze Age collapse around 1200 BCE, which saw major powers like Mycenaean Greece and the Hittite Empire vanish, is typically attributed to a "perfect storm" of disasters. However, historian Peter Turchin proposes a radical alternative: societies disintegrate not because the poor rebel, but because an overproduced elite engages in self-serving "rent-seeking behavior." This internal struggle for power, not external threats or bottom-up movements, creates inherent instability. The crucial question becomes: are collapse and renewal an unavoidable, perhaps even beneficial, cycle for human progress?
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