[quote=briansd1]Actually, I think foreign intervention in China, Vietnam, Cambodia is what brought on revolution. Without the destabilizing factors of foreign intervention, there would have been more continuity.
Russia was a different. The aristocracy could have reformed; but they even opposed reform attempts by the Emperor.[/quote]
At least for China, most dynasties had the same life cycle. At first the emperor have the popular support, then gradually as corruption sets in, a small group of the population become more and more powerful and rich. The emporer gradually direct policies from welfare of the populace to welfare of the selected few, while the general population gradually falters. Then all it takes is a famine and general revolt sets in.
I can see th same process with America. As corporations get bigger, they also gain more voice and power within the government. Gradually, the government changes it’s focus from the populace to the corporations. As the corporations do better, the wealth of the country become more concentrated into the hands of a few.
