Chaos seems to be all around us. Living standards are dropping and unrest is rising in western countries amid a backdrop of rising tension around the world. Drawing from classical history, Rome, Greece, Mesopotamia, as well as geopolitics, mythology and a re-examination of Marxism, Caleb Maupin argues that there are two distinct drives within human beings, one that seeks to build and the other that seeks to plunder and destroy. In this book, the well-known journalist and political analyst examines the broken political compass and why the concepts of left and right are not as clear in the 21st century. Maupin also describes the crisis hanging over the global apparatus of production, as the irrational profit motive gets in the way of human creativity. This book points toward the way out of societal decay in the west, and to the underlying causes of the unfolding Eurasian renaissance. In an age cursed by pessimism, this book presents an optimistic view of the potential within technology and the computer revolution. From many different angles, Maupin points toward the hope for international cooperation and friendship with a win-win model of global trade. The book present an analysis of the Iran nuclear deal's demise, the efforts to crush Huawei Technologies and the Nordstream 2 natural gas pipeline, the rise of New Energy Vehicles, the contradictory behavior of the Trump White House, the rise of the New Right in Europe, the Bernie Sanders "Democratic Socialist" phenomena in America, and so much more. In his analysis, Maupin offers a repudiation of both post-modern liberal deconstruction and "greed is good" economic theories, arguing that the rational side of human beings will once again reassert itself in order to fulfill the dreams of peace and growth that seems to unite us all.

A history of cilization in Italy from the birth of Petrarch to the death of Titian - 1304 to 1576.