spirals work both ways

new resources

• Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser
• Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone by Eric Klinenberg
• Cosmopolitan Culture by Bonnie Menes Kahn

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Vicious spirals have their opposites: beneficent spirals, processes in which each improvement and strengthening leads to other improvements and strengthenings in the culture, in turn further strengthening the initial improvement. Excellent education strengthens excellent teaching and research by some of those educated, activities that in their turn strengthen communities. Responsive and responsible government encourages the corrective practices exerted by democracy, which in their turn strengthen good government and responsible citizenship.

History has repeatedly demonstrated that empires seldom seem to retain sufficient cultural self-awareness to prevent them from overreaching and overgrasping. They have neglected to recognize that the true power of a successful culture resides in its example. ... To take it successfully, a society must be self-aware.

Dark Age Ahead, Jane Jacobs

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