Pretty much says it all. Buchannan gets it right again. Western Civilization is doomed; actually, it has been for quite some time. We are in the twilight time, soon to enter the great, long night of decline.
There is a season.... Seems these things have all been done before. What one learns from history is that no one learns from history.
“It should be known that at the beginning of a dynasty, taxation yields a large revenue from small assessments. At the end of the dynasty, taxation yields a small revenue from large assessments”.
‘Abd-ar-Rah.mân Abû Zayd ibn Khaldûn (1332-1406),