Barring apocalyptic natural disaster, the similarities with modern times are seriously overblown. Hordes of Somali pirates are going to topple civilizarion? Really? Even Mexico is a haven of good governance and the rule of law compared to pretty much any nation in the world prior to the industrial revolution. The modern world is fantastically stable compared to any previous era in history. Our modern distributed, globalised just-in-time economy simply wouldn&#x27;t be possible if it wasn&#x27;t. Yes the high level of optimisation in the modern economy is a potential source of vulnerability, but I believe we have massive economic and technological resources available to overcome such risks. The waves of migrants from the Middle East and Africa aren&#x27;t coming to Europe to raze our cities, they&#x27;re coming looking for jobs.