I think I've been reading you a lot longer than that but I don't remember that Colinvaux review. Your summary of it makes it sound a lot like Peter Turchin's theory of elite overproduction, but like 30+ years before Turchin.
If you haven't read it I recommend you check out Philip Bobbitt's The Shield of Achilles. The first half is a very interesting survey of the coevolution of constitutional law and technology (the second half is predictive and in my opinion not worth much) -- of particular relevance here is the relationship between mas conscription and democracy, and after reading it and thinking of the automation trends just then beginning to develop in warfare, I realized that soon the powers that be would simply not need us anymore and democratic privileges, such as they are, would gradually be withdrawn. What you're talking about seems a lot like the "civil" side of that coin to me.
I think I've been reading you a lot longer than that but I don't remember that Colinvaux review. Your summary of it makes it sound a lot like Peter Turchin's theory of elite overproduction, but like 30+ years before Turchin.
If you haven't read it I recommend you check out Philip Bobbitt's The Shield of Achilles. The first half is a very interesting survey of the coevolution of constitutional law and technology (the second half is predictive and in my opinion not worth much) -- of particular relevance here is the relationship between mas conscription and democracy, and after reading it and thinking of the automation trends just then beginning to develop in warfare, I realized that soon the powers that be would simply not need us anymore and democratic privileges, such as they are, would gradually be withdrawn. What you're talking about seems a lot like the "civil" side of that coin to me.