From feasting on human flesh to their starring roles in our most beloved B-movies, zombies have been an integral part of American life for generations. But now, experts believe that our favorite undead abominations may be in jeopardy. According to a recent study, the zombie species’ precarious position on the food chain puts it in danger of extinction.

Recently, an old friend stumbled upon this blog and e-mailed me. We hadn’t spoken to each other since we were about 12 years old, so I was put in the unique position of penning an autobiography - if only in my head - with a span of age 13 to 19. It made me realize how completely my teenage years were engulfed in a single project, in a frustrating, hair-pulling, nail-biting, horrific beast that has stalked me from year to year, never letting me rest. I call it The Book.

Joseph Tainter’s 1988 The Collapse of Complex Societies remains the definitive work in the field of collapse. Tainter reviews other explanations of collapse–including economics, invasion and environmental problems–and finds them all insufficient. While these factors certainly play their roles, these are also the very same stressors that complexity is supposed to deal with. Thus, while these might suffice as proximate causes, it only underlines the ultimate cause all the more. Why do complex societies become vulnerable to the very kinds of stress which, at an earlier time in its history, the society in question would simply shrug off?

Peggy Noonan’s editorial in the Wall Street Journal is very disturbing, indeed; not because she reveals anything new, but the fact that this is Peggy Noonan, writing in the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal. In the piece, we see Noonan trying desperately to grasp intuitively towards the very same point that Tainter drives home so precisely in The Collapse of Complex Societies. Noonan’s seeing that investments in complexity simply aren’t yielding the same results they used to, and that the world has become so complex it’s unmanageable.

As Americans, we’re used to having the greatest lifestyle in the history of the universe. As a result, we can on occasion take our many freedoms for granted - sometimes to the point of considering that America might not be a utopia. An unthinkable thought to all of us red-blooded Americans, I know, but it’s gaining surprising ground in the more Communist-friendly areas of our great land. Liberals will often speak of “freedom,” but they have no idea what real freedom is. Ironically, as they attempt to impose their Orwellian “freedom” on us, they threaten our own cherished freedom.

What is “civilization”? When asked this question directly, many people answer that a civilization is simply a synonym for “society”–that a civilization is simply a group of people living together. This definition is betrayed when you press the point with borderline examples. Are you comfortable with the phrase “Inuit Civilization”? Or “!Kung Civilization?” Or “Australian Aborigine Civilization”? Most people are not. There is no doubt as to whether the Inuit, !Kung or Aborigines constitute societies, but we waver on the question of their civilization. Obviously, then, the two words are not the synonyms some would claim.

WordNet provides four definitions for the word:

1. Isn’t it hypocritical of primitivists to use modern technology? If they want to live primitively so badly, why don’t they just run off into the woods already and do it?

Atheists are very fond of critiquing “religion” (by which they usually mean the three most recent forms of Western monotheism) for causing so much death and destruction in the world. From the Crusades to the Inquisition to modern-day Islamic suicide bombers, the record for religious conflict seems superficially to be as comprehensive as it is damning. But today is the fourth anniversary of Marvin Harris’ death, and the theory of cultural materialism he championed so effectively suggests a very different reading of those facts: not that people die for religion, but that religion provides a convenient excuse for the blood-curdling violence that our economic situation so often demands.

One of the principle religious beliefs of civilized cultures is the conception of “salvation.” The details vary widely, but the ultimate concept remains remarkably uniform. Humans are in some way innately flawed, and it is because of this flaw that people need to be “saved” from themselves. In Christianity this salvation comes from a faith in Christ. In Judaism it comes from following the commandments of Torah. In Buddhism it comes from achieving enlightenment. The means differ, but the goal of being “saved” remains the same.

Bartel, Chief Lieutenant of the Fourth Underworld and regular blogger for Digital Myth, had some thoughts on the Hussein trial; now he’s been rebutted by Jan, ” celestial agent of the heavenly court sent to Earth to save you from the likes of [his] pal Bartel, here.” The conversation’s turned to one of human nature, but specifically I’m interested in Jan’s comment that, throughout human history, “we see again and again a pursuit of order.” I’d see I agree with the angel, but how does that jive with my repeated comment that I am an “anarchist”?