Rich in knowledge, art, and even science, as well as decadence. Sound familiar?
So often rich societies achieve so much, and morally fail so much.
Well put.
So the question is:
How should one put one’s end of life “surplus” wealth to productive use over the millennia?
The Ford Foundation has gone rogue [or red, rouge].
It would seem that only things build of stone survive.
Who funded the Roman stone structures that survive today?
Intellectual Property like personal freedom? How to continue that? Hillsdale?
I was thinking the exact same thing.
Not all of our ancient ancestors needed ‘science and decadence’ to create compelling art. In many cases, their knowledge and ‘art’ came from basic human experience.
(The cave paintings at Chauvet and Lascaux - q.v. - may not be as technically correct, but they are full of kinetic veracity and hit the mark in terms of the recognition of the people of their time; and they are far older than Pompeii.)