Divided society

A characteristic of civilization from the beginning has been social division and wealth disparity.

From the beginning, with the division of labor and urban consolidation, much wealth has been generated, but the wealth, and resources in general, has flowed to the cosmopolitan centers.

All trends have gone hyper in our time. The world-class cities now are cosmopolitan almost to the point (as with ancient Rome) of decadence.

* * * *

Division into three worlds. That of extraction and industrial production (with concomitant oppression and pollution) occurs in “sacrifice zones” at the periphery. Megalopolis cities are the locus of cultural fluff and faux production (entertainment, media, entertainment, finance, entertainment, tech, entertainment). All the rest is “fly-over” territory … disregarded, disrespected backwaters.

Such a sorry condition is bound to result in a great deal of social pathology.

https://www.fifthestate.org/archive/336-spring-1991/civilization-in-bulk/