Writers here, usually at the end of an agony piece worrying about some enormous problem that is being neglected, wave their hands and mention collapse, be it the West, the World, or even the universe. Yet, a case has been made that collapse is already occurring, and is a process of decay, rather than a catastrophic event, like the collapse of a bridge. “Decay,” is probably a better word to describe the nature of the fall of the West;
https://www.peakprosperity.com/blog/114741/collapse-already-here
“Collapse is already here. However, unlike Hollywood's vision, the early stages of collapse cause people to cling even tighter to the status quo. Instead of panic in the streets, we simply see more of the same -- as those in power do all they can to remain so, while the majority of the public attempts to ignore the growing problems for as long as it possibly can. For both the elite and the majority, their entire world view and their personal sense of self depends on things not crumbling all around them, so they remain willfully blind to any evidence to the contrary. When faced with the predicaments we warn about here at PeakProsperity.com, getting an early start on prudently shifting your own personal situation is of vital strategic and tactical importance. Tens of thousands of our readers already have taken wise steps in their lives to position themselves resiliently. But most of the majority won't get started until it’s entirely too late to make any difference at all. Which is sad but perhaps unavoidable, given human nature. If everybody around you is saying “Everything is awesome!” it can take a long time to determine for yourself that things in fact aren't:
Real collapse happens slowly, and often without any sort of acknowledgement by the so-called political and economic elites until its abrupt terminal end. The degree of rot within the Soviet Union went undetected until its final implosion, catching pretty much everyone in the West (as well as in the former USSR!) by surprise. Similarly, one day people woke up and passenger pigeons were extinct. They used to literally darken the skies for hours as they migrated past, numbering in the billions. Nobody planned on their demise and virtually nobody saw it coming. Sure, just as there always are, a few crackpots at the fringes noticed, but they were ignored until it was too late. Our view is that collapse of our current way of life is happening right now. The signs are all around us. Our invitation is for you to notice them and inquire critically what the ramifications will be -- irrespective of whatever pablum our leaders and media are currently spewing. While the monetary and financial elites strain to crank out one more day/week/month/year of “market stability”, the ecosystems we depend on for life are vanishing. It's as if the Rapture were happening, but it's the insects, plants and animals ascending to heaven instead of us humans.”
Regardless of all the hot air over climate change, the real issue of concern is the die off of biodiversity, including insect population across the world, and this decrease is not doubted by scientists, the debate being about the extent and causes. Thus, the die off of bees, via colony collapse disorder, continues to devastate bee hives. The US Department of Agriculture has held that there is probably no single cause of colony collapse disorder, such as pesticides, but rather it arises from multiple factors. This will make it particularly difficult to control, since this disease is probably a product of the modern world.