Self-organized Collapse of Societies

Abstract

Why are human societies unstable? Theories based on the observation of recurring patterns in historical data indicate that economic inequality, as well as social factors are key drivers. So far, models of this phenomenon are more macroscopic in nature. However, basic mechanisms at work could be accessible to minimal mathematical models. Here we combine a simple mechanism for economic growth with a mechanism for the spreading of social dissatisfaction. Broad wealth distributions generated by the economic mechanism eventually trigger social unrest and the destruction of wealth, leading to an emerging pattern of boom and bust. We find that the model time scales compare well with empirical data. The model emphasizes the role of broad (power law) wealth distributions for dynamical social phenomena.