In this lecture, Professor Jiang explains the three theories as to why and how societies rise and fall: the financialization of society, elite over-production, and the civilization life cycle. Recommended Readings: 1. Please do yourself a favor, and read Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century.” It’s surprisingly clear and simple, and his evidence is striking and overwhelming. 2. It’s essential to read Peter Turchin. Start off with one of his earlier works: “War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires.” 3. C. Wright Mills’ “The Power Elite” is a classic sociological survey on the structure of power in society. You can read it for free here: https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.507694 If you'd like to read more about this topic, please read Professor Jiang's Substack post here: https://predictivehistory.substack.com/p/secret-history-2-measuring-the-resilience Please support Professor Jiang's work at https://buymeacoffee.com/predictivehistory