I do think your on to something here. I think it was De Toqueville who said that democracies eventually decay into totalitarianism as soon as the majority figure out they can rob from the minority via the voting box. We went from a republic to a democracy in the 20th century. I see no signs we won't go down the drain entirely this century. Unless other civilations are immune to envy and class warfare, I see no reason why they would not follow the same pattern.