"History shows that, when societies degrade the environment, they collapse." All eyes on China. 😒
But that's not why they're collapsing. It's not why any society collapses.
Collapses occur in the final period of a society.
All societies begin as localized free market, common law establishments.
Systems are adopted, governments appointed, authorities defined, and norms are standardized.
Governments then expand, authorities expand, wealth expands, and corruption expands.
Corruption becomes pervasive, common law is replaced with prescribed law, redistribution removes consequences, morality is abandoned, productivity falls, violence escalates, and society collapses.
Among the surviving fragments new societies begin.
The degradation which collapses society is the POLITICAL climate degradation.