The Real Reason Gen Z Can't Afford Anything It's Worse Than You Think - Prof Jiang Xueqin

Societies are structured with a powerful elite, often comprising a small number of founding families, at their core. These elites maintain control through three key mechanisms: finance (central banking), religion (influencing beliefs, currently science and technology), and intelligence (spying). The nexus of these pillars allows them to control all societal aspects, including schools, military, government, media, culture, and crime. At the outer edge are the people, who generate wealth, and the middle class, who act as managers, mediating between the elite and the workers.

This societal structure operates in cycles of rise, decline, and collapse. During a society's rise, characterized by openness, meritocracy, and innovation, the elite allow managers to foster worker productivity. However, as elite families expand, leading to "elite overproduction," the system becomes strained. In the decline phase, managers, driven by rent-seeking behavior, begin to exploit workers to maintain their own comfortable positions. This exploitation, combined with internal conflict among the elite, escalates, leading to societal factions, civil war, or revolution, marking the collapse.

The transition from rise to decline is marked by a shift from openness and meritocracy to bureaucracy and authoritarianism. Bureaucracy emerges as managers focus on job security and create more rules. Eventually, in the collapse phase, control shifts from adherence to rules to rule by force. This cyclical dynamic is natural and can even invite external intervention, such as mercenary involvement, as factions vie for power.

• Societies are controlled by a small elite group through finance, religion (science/tech), and intelligence.
• The middle class acts as managers who can exploit workers when the system is under stress.
• Societal cycles include rise (openness, meritocracy), decline (bureaucracy, exploitation), and collapse (authoritarianism, revolution).
• "Elite overproduction" and "rent-seeking behavior" by managers are key drivers of decline.
• The collapse can be marked by civil war or revolution, with external threats often being a consequence rather than a cause.

Core Societal Structure and Pillars of Power [0:04]

• Society is structured with a powerful elite at its core, consisting of a small number of founding families, estimated to be around 10 to 100.
• Historically, similar structures existed, like the approximately 200 families controlling the Roman Empire.
• These elite families express and control power through three main mechanisms: finance, religion, and intelligence.
• Finance is characterized by central banking.
• Religion is defined as controlling what people believe, with science and technology being the modern forms of religious influence.
• Intelligence refers to spying.
• The nexus or culmination of these three pillars allows the elite to control all aspects of society.

The core of society is governed by a select group of elite families who wield power through finance, religion (now science and technology), and intelligence. This interconnected system allows them to exert control over every facet of societal operations.

The nexus, their culmination that allows the elite to control everyone else.

The Corporation Metaphor: Elite, Managers, and Workers [03:10]

• Society can be metaphorically viewed as a corporation.
• The elite families represent the owners.
• The people at the outer edge are the workers who generate wealth.
• The middle class, also referred to as managers, scholar officials, the professional managerial class (PMC), or the petty bourgeoisie, are situated in between.

This corporate metaphor simplifies the societal hierarchy, with elite families as owners, the people as workers, and the middle class acting as managers.

Think of society as a corporation. The people are the workers, right? They're the ones who do the real work. the elite, these families are the owners.

Societal Rise and Decline Dynamics [04:27]

• When a society rises, the elite families are content to let managers (middle class) control society, a phase akin to democracy.
• Managers provide feedback, advocating for better treatment of workers to increase productivity and happiness.
• During this rise, things are great, people feel heard, and make good money.
• However, "elite overproduction" leads to too many offspring of the elite seeking positions of power, straining the system and leading to debt.
• In decline, managers, instead of advocating for fairness, exploit the people.
• Managers engage in "rent-seeking behavior," using their power to extract wealth from others without producing commensurate value. Examples include lawyers collecting fees for court system access or landlords collecting rent.
• Managers often do not perform substantial work and exploit workers to prove their worth and maintain their comfortable lifestyles.

The cycle turns when elite overproduction strains resources, leading managers to exploit workers rather than advocate for them, driven by rent-seeking behavior to maintain their own status.

The managers exploit the people. The managers will now deceive. They will lie to the people. They will commit fraud. They will exploit the people.

Conflict and Societal Collapse [07:47]

• In the decline phase, internal conflict within the elite intensifies due to overproduction.
• This conflict leads to the formation of competing factions within the elite.
• Societies become aligned with these factions, which then draw in elements of the middle class and subsequently the people.
• This factionalization can ultimately lead to civil war or revolution, marking the collapse of society.
• This cycle is natural and not easily altered by external threats, as factions may even align with mercenaries.
• Foreign invasions are often a consequence of internal instability, with factions inviting mercenaries who then seize power.
• A collapsing society is too inwardly focused and conflicted to address external threats effectively.

The natural cycle of societal rise and fall culminates in collapse, driven by escalating internal elite conflicts and factionalization, often leading to civil war or revolution.

And when that happens, then society becomes aligned into factions. The factions will bring in certain elements of the middle class which will then bring in certain elements of the people.

Elite Succession and Power Maintenance [10:41]

• Elite families prioritize having many children to pass on their power and privilege.
• This is a primary concern for the elite, ensuring their lineage and influence continue.
• External individuals also seek to marry into elite families to gain access to their power and privilege.
• Marriages are a strategy for the elite to maintain and expand their power.

The continuation of elite power is intrinsically linked to the strategic expansion of their families through childbirth and advantageous marriages, ensuring the transmission of privilege across generations.

In fact the elite is first and foremost concerned with passing on their privilege to the next generation.

Phases of Societal Development: Rise, Decline, and Collapse [12:26]

• Rise: Characterized by openness, social mobility, meritocracy, innovation, and acceptance of criticism. Societies are democratic and eager to learn. Young societies are typically in this phase.
• Decline: Marked by bureaucracy. As companies lose money, managers focus on job security, leading to more rules and paperwork. Society becomes less innovative and more rigid.
• Collapse: Becomes authoritarian, shifting from following rules to rule by force.

Societies progress through distinct phases: a rise characterized by openness and merit, a decline defined by increasing bureaucracy and managerial self-preservation, and a final collapse into authoritarian rule.

In the when society rises, it is first and foremost open. Open just means that you have opportunities for social mobility in a society.

Then in clap space becomes a authoritarian. Before the client is all following the rules. Now it's just rule by force.