Societal Collapse/theories/toynbee%E2%80%99s Theory of Decay

Famous quotes containing the words societal, collapse, theories, theory and/or decay:

    Society’s double behavioral standard for women and for men is, in fact, a more effective deterrent than economic discrimination because it is more insidious, less tangible. Economic disadvantages involve ascertainable amounts, but the very nature of societal value judgments makes them harder to define, their effects harder to relate.
    Anne Tucker (b. 1945)

    The world was a huge ball then, the universe a might harmony of ellipses, everything moved mysteriously, incalculable distances through the ether.
    We used to feel the awe of the distant stars upon us. All that led to was the eighty-eight naval guns, ersatz, and the night air-raids over cities. A magnificent spectacle.
    After the collapse of the socialist dream, I came to America.
    John Dos Passos (1896–1970)

    A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.
    Marcel Proust (1871–1922)

    The theory seems to be that so long as a man is a failure he is one of God’s chillun, but that as soon as he has any luck he owes it to the Devil.
    —H.L. (Henry Lewis)

    The constant abrasion and decay of our lives makes the soil of our future growth.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)