While I don't believe in the socialist agenda of this author, I do believe the accuracy of this paragraph...
Think of civilisation as a poorly-built ladder. As you climb, each step that you used falls away. A fall from a height of just a few rungs is fine. Yet the higher you climb, the larger the fall. Eventually, once you reach a sufficient height, any drop from the ladder is fatal.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190218-are-we-on-the-road-to-civilisation-collapse