In ancient societies that I studied, for example the Roman Empire, the great problem that they faced was when they would have to incur very high costs just to maintain the status quo. Invest very high amounts in solving problems that don't yield a net positive return, but instead simply allowed them to maintain what they already got. This decreases the net benefit of being a complex society.
Here is how Tainter describes his view in graphical form; in his book.
So, you see that Tainter has one thing very clear: complexity gives a benefit, but it is also a cost. This cost is related to energy, as he makes clear in his book. And in emphasizing complexity, Tainter gives us a good definition of what we intend for collapse. Very often people have been discussing the collapse of ancient societies without specifying what they meant for "collapse". For a while, there has been a school of thought that maintained that the Roman Empire had never really "collapsed". It had simply transformed itself into something else. But if you take collapse defined as "a rapid reduction of complexity" then you have a good definition and that's surely what happened to the Roman Empire.
https://www.financialsense.com/contributors/ugo-bardi/peak-civilization
Trump signs bill that has huge increase in war spending which means huge profits for International Banksters and Filthy Lucre Corporations.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/03/23/trump-mulls-veto-1-3-trillion-spending-bill-over-lack-border-wall-daca.html
IT TAKES A LOT OF RED
TO KEEP BIG BULLET IN THE BLACK
It's patriotism to your face; then death behind your back;
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Red our debt; Red the blood that shrouds the corpses in a stack.
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Blood spilt on the ground turns from red to black;
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Line in the sand is bright blood red before it turns jet black
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
So sincere when he is lying, every Politician, Jack,
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
“Vote for me, I'll keep you safe from terrorist attack,”
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Big Bullet buys our hero, Jack, then hides behind his back;
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Jack toils so Big Bullet's bottom line always stays jet black.
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
I red the news today, Oh boy, it was right there in white and black;
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
The Defense Industry bleeds no red, it's bottom line is black.
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Red Blood spills from the veins of country Jill and Jack;
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Pouring out as fast as the lies from every Politician, Jack.
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
America is a business and every Jill and Jack;
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Has the patriotic duty to keep Big Bullet in the black,
It takes a lot of red to keep Big Bullet in the black.
Are The United States an Evil Empire? Yes.
And click on the link to see just how insane and
mammoth our killing machine is