Elsewhere in the book, Ophuls describes the sad predicament civilizations face: “A mature civilization is caught in an entropy trap from which escape is well nigh impossible. Because the available energy and resources can no longer maintain the existing level of complexity, the civilization begins to consume itself by borrowing from the future and feeding off the past, thereby preparing the way for an eventual implosion.… This is the tragedy of civilization: its very ‘greatness’—its panoply of wealth and power—turns against it and brings it down.” “Nothing but improvement behind us?” Come on,
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