Those pyramids should stand as an eternal monument to the inherent folly of government spending. It may keep people busy, and it may look like things are getting done, but it merely squanders human and physical resources, and is inherently uneconomic. A collossal waste of productive human energy -- and for what? To assuage the ego of some delusional tyrant.
Just think how that society would have thrived if all those poor souls assigned to monument building and similar tasks had been allowed to pursue their own individual talents and goals.
I don't know much about Egyptian history, but obviously it was doomed to failure from the getgo.
Clearly, you DON'T know ANYTHING about Egyptian history.
I'm pretty sure the article said the problem was an environmental event. Albeit, I do agree with your politics.
Then perhaps you should have allowed yourself
the luxury of an unexpressed thought and maybe
learned something.
All those years...and the Egyptians never sold out naming rights to a corporate sponsor!
Take the Mississippi, which is so important to the lives and fortunes of people who live on its banks, and transport it to a much drier climate -- or consider the Colorado, and the use made of its water -- and you get an idea of how important the river was, and how difficult it would be to have the whole process in private hands in ancient times.
Ancient civizations lasted for a very long time with all the faults that we'd attribute their fall to. Rome is another example. What we see as Roman decadence lasted centuries before the empire fell.
Unless you know the facts you don't have the right to have an opinion.
It wasn't like that. The pharaonic Egyptians were remarkably republican. Each citizen was expected to adhere to a moral code that is surprisingly modern, maybe even proto-Christian. They had a wealthy and powerful civilization, were highly advanced technologically, and they had extensive trade with the rest of the known world.
When Egypt collapsed, it wouldn't have been just Egypt, the rest of civilization would have been in deep trouble at the same time.
i am going to have to memorize this statement -- very powerful and true!
i suggest that climate had more to do with the sudden downfall of the egyptians than anything else. government spending problems are a lot like the frog in boiling water analogy. when the temperature increases slowly to the boiling point, the frog does not notice the problem until it is dead.
taking this to a different direction, climatic changes occur naturally and run in cycles. in fact, there are multiple cycles in play all the time. trying to keep the climate stable, like our environmentalist friends do, is futile. it is another example of gross government spending that causes civilizations to be less productive than they otherwise would. and with that, we need to go to the top and remind ourselves of your excellent quote about the pyramids!
And this differes from our federal government, how?
FYI, the ancient Egyptian civilization was arguably one of, if not the most successful civilization of all time. It began 3,000 or so B.C. And lasted until Alexander the Great conquered it in 400 B.C. or depending on your view of history, until the death of Cleopatra about 400 years later. It's contribution to math and the science was as great as the Greeks. It buildings still stand today after 4,000 years. And we still don't know how they did it.
You might try reading about the ancients, they were remarkable peoples.
I would urge you to read Peter Thompkins book "Secrets of the Great Pyramid" for a different perspective. The monument to an egotistical ruler is probably not the reason for the construction.
At the very least, they serve as geodesic markers. There were probably astronomical function as well.
Something else you don't know; the Egyptian "getgo" was an empire that lasted for SEVERAL THOUSAND YEARS!
Excellent observation.