i think what's going on is that people are naturally egalitarian (it's how foragers work, which is what we evolved for). a little amount of technology and unique geography and the classic idea of liberty turned this on its head by way of allowing people to sprawl instead of banding together as we had always done before. from this emerged the cult of the nuclear family as an island and self-reliance and honor culture. but as people pack together more tightly and experience a life less and less like primitive life, the egalitarianism returns but what also comes with it is a deep naivete about the realities of nature. so we end up with chunks of incredibly dense and "diverse" populations whose natural egalitarianism engages without an eye towards natural necessities. this gives rise to things like women no longer needing to bear children and make the home in order for the group to survive, and for men no longer needing to provide security in order for the group to survive.

that's my theory, at least.

i fear that the natual progression of human civilization, if dependent upon the human make-up, is one of totalitarianism and uniformity. it's in our genes. but i also think that technology subverts this to an even greater degree.