The c-word

I heard a CNBC anchor speak in hushed-terms of the 'collapse of capitalism', showing some concern.  

For a frightening look at how societies collapse, see Jared Diamond's Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.   Here are two thought-provoking paragraphs from that book:

last tree and globalization

How much choice we have in the matter, I think, is debatable.