I can't put much stock as to what has happened in the past as a basis for dealing with what is happening now.
As a whole, our attitudes and behaviors have changed, to the point that past solitions are most often irrelevant in today's world.
We are in unprecedented times. Never before in human history have we faced our own extinction with the knowledge beforehand that we know we are facing extinction. (There may be a chance a past civilization knew what they were facing in the five great extinctions that has happened before, but it's a slim chance.)
The level of greediness and selfish self-promotion at the expense of all others now seeps into all levels of society, with the exception, ironically, of the poorest classes, who still exhibit an altruistic caring for others, maybe bc of their economic position they still understand we all do better when we work together to help each other.
Again, I'm looking at this from my lived experiences and education as an American, and it could be very different from another society's experiences and education.
I would rather see that society as a whole didn't require or rely on the wealthy to give charity to the lesser classes as a function of society.
I'd rather that governance be based on spreading wealth equally amongst all members.
Uber wealth is a poison. It creates, and maintains different classes of citizens.
Healthy societies don't need charity. Healthy societies take care of all citizens equally.
@504DR If we're likely to see some form of "a zillionaire has to support a bunch of people" mechanism to return, I suspect a corporate-style empire-building would be the likeliest source of the culture. This practice is weaker in the present time than it used to be a couple of decades ago, but it still exists, and could probably be transferred to other fields of life.
The downside, of course, is that accepting such a development would put us on a pretty direct path towards introduction of other elements of neo-feudalism.
@rysiek
@504DR If we're likely to see some form of "a zillionaire has to support a bunch of people" mechanism to return, I suspect a corporate-style empire-building would be the likeliest source of the culture. This practice is weaker in the present time than it used to be a couple of decades ago, but it still exists, and could probably be transferred to other fields of life.