Cycles of History: Why Societies Rise, Flourish, and Decline

The idea that history develops in cycles and that human character changes under the influence of different eras has existed in philosophy since ancient times. Plato, and later modern thinkers, emphasized that societies constantly move through phases of rise and decline. However, this cycle is rarely as straightforward as it may seem. It includes intermediate stages, hidden causes, and internal mechanisms that often remain unnoticed.

Difficult periods do shape people who are capable of enduring pressure, making decisions, and taking responsibility. Yet these periods force society to focus almost entirely on survival. As a result, spiritual and intellectual growth does not emerge automatically, but relies on the work of those few individuals who, even during peaceful times, invested in ideas, science, and culture. Their earlier achievements become the foundation for recovery. In destructive eras, society depends on what was created before and rarely produces fundamentally new ideas. It survives by using the intellectual capital accumulated during calmer decades.

When a crisis passes, a phase of construction begins. New institutions are built, norms are strengthened, and opportunities appear. Better times bring greater security and stability. Over time, however, this same stability leads to another extreme. People who grow up in comfort do not experience the pressures their predecessors faced and often lose inner discipline, resilience, and the ability to cope with hardship. This creates a new form of weakness, not biological but cultural. People do not become worse, but they become more dependent on systems and less personally responsible for the collective future.

Gradually, society enters a phase of stagnation. Everything functions, yet very little truly changes. In such periods, many people are willing to live off what has already been created. At the same time, quietly and often invisibly, new strong and creative individuals begin to form. They do not grow through direct confrontation with catastrophe, but through ideas, research, art, and philosophy. When existing systems can no longer cope, these individuals become the carriers of transformation.

When comfort and abundance reach their limit, a disordered and chaotic era emerges. Freedoms become uncontrolled, norms blur, and weak decisions generate new crises. Once again, strong individuals rise to the surface, ready to take responsibility and guide society back toward order. The cycle repeats, and history moves once more from chaos to creation.

This repetition is typical of societies that develop spontaneously. As long as humanity is driven mainly by emotions, traditions, chance, and conflicting interests, it will inevitably swing between crisis and prosperity.

Yet another path is possible. If society learns to consciously renew its institutions without allowing stagnation, if education focuses on forming thoughtful and responsible individuals rather than mere performers, and if culture encourages mature independence instead of egoism, these cycles will become far less destructive. In such a future, crises will no longer be the unavoidable price of comfort, and stability will not turn into weakness. Society will be able to sustain continuous development through creative and realistic forces, preventing ignorance and chaos from shaping the course of history.