Everyone keeps waiting for the grand finale. Trump, Biden, the next election, the next summit, the next miracle policy—surely this is the turning point. Meanwhile civilization politely continues leaking oil, dropping bolts, and insisting the smoke is merely an atmospheric feature. The apocalypse, it seems, has embraced administrative efficiency.
Idiots are not an anomaly within civilization. They are one of its products. Every successful society eventually creates enough comfort to shield people from consequences, and once consequences disappear, incompetence begins to breed unchecked. The danger is not that idiots exist. The danger is that prosperity allows them to rise, multiply, and institutionalize themselves before reality finally returns.