In some countries social order has already begun to break down in the face of soaring food prices and spreading hunger. Could the worldwide food crisis portend the collapse of global civilization? One of the toughest things for us to do is to anticipate discontinuity. Whether on a personal level or on a global economic level, we typically project the future by extrapolating from the past. Most of the time this works well, but occasionally we experience a discontinuity that we failed to anticipate. The collapse of civilization is such a case. It is no surprise that many past civilizations failed to grasp the forces and recognize signs that heralded their undoing. More than once it was shrinking food supplies that brought about their downfall. Water tables are falling in countries that contain half the world’s people, including the three biggest grain producers — China, India, and the United States. REUTERS Water tables are falling in countries that contain half the world’s people, including the three biggest grain producers — China, India, and the United States. Does our civilization face a similar fate? Until recently it did not seem possible, but our failure to deal with the […]