Many years ago Sir John Glubb Pasha wrote about the fate of empires. He said that every world power goes through the same phases: Outburst, commercial expansion, affluence, intellectualism, and decay. He proposed that you could often tell what phase an empire was in but its heroes, who people looked up to. Outburst - pioneers, Commercial expansion - inventors, Affluence - the wealthy, Intellectualism - politicians and highly educated. He said that during the last phase, decay, there wasn't any particular group tying itself to this phase so people would idolize actors, singers, athletes, and others who would keep them entertained.
http://www.the-spearhead.com/2010/10...te-of-empires/