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Social collapse

Ross Douthat | Photo: Brian Cahn/ZUMA Wire/Alamy

World

Ross Douthat on Digital Alienation, Birth Rates, and Demographic Collapse

"I like Italy. I like South Korea. I enjoy the existence of distinctive human cultures. I would prefer that these cultures and countries not disappear," the New York Times columnist tells Reason.

Liz Wolfe and Zach Weissmueller | 6.15.2025 6:00 AM

silhouette of person with halo | Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ramaissance?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Ramez E. Nassif</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Tz8sKLvSV08?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Ethics

People Think Morality Is Declining. Surveys Suggest They're Wrong.

Asked about people in general, respondents perceive moral decline. But when asked about specific acts or people in their personal worlds, the data tell a different story.

Elizabeth Nolan Brown | 7.3.2023 8:00 AM

featurechinapix136913 | YUYU CHEN/FEATURECHINA/Newscom

Coronavirus

Shanghai's Lockdowns Result in Starvation and Quarantine Enforcers Being Attacked

More than 25 million people remain locked down in Shanghai, with Guangzhou—a city of 18 million—looking primed to follow.

Liz Wolfe | 4.11.2022 5:50 PM

zumaamericastwentyeight302971 | Chris Juhn/ZUMA Press/Newscom

Protests

Kenosha Doesn't Have To Be a Vision of America's Future

Neither does Portland. But the fact that the violence is continuous and seems to be escalating is cause for concern.

J.D. Tuccille | 8.26.2020 4:00 PM

topicshistory | Cornelisz Anthonisz 837 M EinsturzdesTurmes/Alamy

History

COVID-19 and the Collapse of Complex Societies

Stephen Davies | 6.2.2020 6:00 AM

altopress065036(1) | Anne-Sophie Bost/A. Bost / Altopress/Newscom

Coronavirus

The Pandemic Brings Out Americans' Inner Snitches

Setting the cops on social-distancing scofflaws is dangerous to public health and a free society.

J.D. Tuccille | 4.15.2020 10:50 AM

krtphotoslive884669 | Elizabeth Robertson/TNS/Newscom

Coronavirus

Pandemic-Related Unemployment and Shutdowns Are a Recipe for Social Unrest

That's a huge concern as forecasters expect the U.S. unemployment rate in the months to come to surpass that seen during the depths of the Great Depression.

J.D. Tuccille | 3.27.2020 11:10 AM

Maduro2020 | Rayner Pena/EPA/Newscom

Venezuela

Socialist Venezuela Proposes To Privatize Its Collapsing Oil Industry

Good luck with that.

Ronald Bailey | 1.29.2020 5:10 PM

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Climate Change

Good News! No Need to Have a Mental Breakdown Over 'Climate Collapse'

The hot new Deep Adaptation report about near-term climate catastrophe is overblown.

Ronald Bailey | 3.29.2019 8:00 AM

Large image on homepages | Young America's Foundation

Reason Podcast

Report from 'Alienated America': Podcast

For his new book, Timothy Carney toured parts of the country that are working and parts that are not. What he found is deeply disturbing.

Nick Gillespie | 2.15.2019 3:45 PM

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Venezuela

Another Socialist Success: Venezuela Imports Oil from U.S.

"They are importing barrels that cost $80 to $90 and are selling them at $0."

Ronald Bailey | 4.30.2018 3:30 PM

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Paul Ehrlich

Civilization Is Doomed, Says Stanford Biologist Paul Ehrlich (Again)

Half a century after The Population Bomb, Ehrlich still thinks global catastrophe is just around the corner.

Ronald Bailey | 3.22.2018 3:25 PM

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Population

High Population Density Just Might Be Good for You

For people, unlike rats, the human 'behavioral sink' seems to be greater creativity, not pathological collapse.

Ronald Bailey | 2.10.2017 1:30 PM

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Poverty

'We Hillbillies Have Got to Wake the Hell Up': Review of Hillbilly Elegy

A family chronicle of the crackup of poor working-class white Americans.

Ronald Bailey | 7.29.2016 1:30 PM

Large image on homepages | Carlos Díaz / Flickr

Venezuela

Venezuela's Supreme Court Bans Publishing of Lynching Footage; Opposition Lawmakers Physically Attacked

President Maduro says images of the horror his country has become are part of a conspiracy against his government.

Anthony Fisher | 6.10.2016 12:20 PM

Large image on homepages | Jorge Perez/Dreamstime.com

Venezuela

Rule of Law Collapses in Venezuela As Maduro Continues to Push Socialist Agenda

Vigilante violence plagues the streets, citizens are hunting dogs and cats for food, but the president insists Bolivarian socialism will save the day.

Anthony Fisher | 5.19.2016 1:05 PM

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Economics

Is Complexity Science Ready for Prime Time?

Ronald Bailey's Wall Street Journal review of A Crude Look at the Whole

Ronald Bailey | 2.19.2016 11:31 AM

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Politics

Death Rates Rise for Young White Americans Too

It's not just midlife whites - mortality rates for whites ages 25 to 34 are also increasing

Ronald Bailey | 1.8.2016 1:30 PM

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The End of Doom

The End is Nigh

A majority believes civilization could collapse and humans go extinct in the next 100 years.

Ronald Bailey | 8.14.2015 1:30 PM

Politics

'America Has Ceased to Exist': Investment Guru Doug Casey on the Coming Economic Meltdown

Nick Gillespie and Amanda Winkler | 6.25.2014 11:09 AM

Politics

Free Lunch or Shit Sandwich? Steve Forbes, Nick Gillespie, et al Debate the Welfare State

Reason Staff | 11.1.2013 3:10 PM

Politics

Betting on Humanity's Future

Cornucopians versus collapsists

Ronald Bailey | 9.13.2013 1:30 PM

Culture

Pathological Altruism: The Road to Hell Really Is Often Paved With Good Intentions Argues New Study

Ronald Bailey | 6.19.2013 9:31 AM

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Politics

Stop Demonizing Preppers

There's more to this American subculture than you think.

Jesse Walker | 4.26.2013 12:00 PM

Politics

Stop Demonizing Preppers

There's more to this subculture than the media stereotypes suggest.

Jesse Walker | 2.20.2013 1:30 PM

Politics

Free Markets = Sustainable Development

Without capitalism, true sustainability is impossible.

Ronald Bailey | 6.12.2012 4:45 PM

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