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Lots to unpack here. I agree that it's difficult for 'old powers' to rise again. Cities - and the ideologies bred in them - seem destined to have their heyday, use that wealth to build their culture, then sit back and bask in former glory. The drive and spark seems to give way to tradition and enjoyment. It makes great cities of the 'old world' like Istanbul, London, Venice, and Cairo absolutely fascinating; living, breathing museums of the glories and failures of different approaches to life and power. We'd be unwise to brush them aside lest we don't learn their lessons and tales. Venice is a tale of entrepreneurs who looked at a decaying Byzantine Empire, and who saw the value of the ancient texts wasting away within their walls. Venetians spread 'old ideas' far and wide and started to embrace reason, trade and order, over ideological dogma. While they too faded away, their ideas and impact gave birth to the European powers, who created America, who'll create ??? Regarding your comments on education. While the internet is an insanely powerful equaliser in education. It too, seems to be going the way of the Byzantines. Walls and moats, ideological purity, and a lack of drive for curiosity and greatness seem the flavour of the day. Maybe the 'Venice of the future' will need to also be a lean power who values curiosity, spark, drive, grit and greatness, as opposed to a huge population centre which can only realistically be controlled by mass-produced, packaged information? |