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The Collapse of Complex Societies cover

The Collapse of Complex Societies

Joseph A. Tainter

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An argument that complex societies collapse when the marginal returns on added social and organizational complexity turn negative. Gwern rates it five stars and judges it both more convincing and better than Jared Diamond's Collapse. Its systems-level, economics-flavored theory of decline fits Gwern's analytical tastes.

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  • “Very good: much better than Jared Diamond's Collapse”

    Five-star (★★★★★) review on Gwern's book-review archive.

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