The Decline of the West

Everywhere I look in the West, there are catastrophic failures. Our infrastructure is collapsing, and we are so overregulated that it is almost impossible to build anything. Our major cities are filled with filth and homelessness. Governments are drowning in massive fiscal deficits. There is an epidemic of obesity and related illnesses. The signs of decline are everywhere, and listing them all would take pages. One thing is abundantly clear: the West is in decline, and poor governance has brought us here.

The most recent example is the fires in Los Angeles. Sure, fire is a normal part of California's climate, but fires of this scale, moving this quickly and destroying so many buildings, are far from normal. Poor policy over the past decade has effectively turned Los Angeles into a tinderbox—an overpopulated one at that. As if this wasn't enough, citizens are setting fires on the streets, stretching an already thin and underfunded fire department even thinner. Los Angeles has been a hellscape for most of my life, but this level of anarchy was once unimaginable. It's not just LA—this chaos reflects the broader decline across the West. It's unfathomable and deeply sad, especially since LA was once an iconic city, the global hub of creativity and the arts. What a fall from grace.

The English rape scandal is another glaring example. For years, the government covered up a rape scandal to avoid "discriminating" against Pakistani men. This is absurd. Thousands of white girls were raped, and the government turned a blind eye. Whatever happened to the principle that "nobody is above the law"? Authorities seem to have forgotten it, instead focusing on perverse incentives that make the world less safe for the very citizens they swore to protect.

How about the EU limiting free speech? Or San Francisco becoming a post-apocalyptic hellscape, where major companies are fleeing en masse? The rot is everywhere, manifesting in world events and local crises alike. It's hard to believe the West was once different. How is this the same civilization that created the Manhattan Project, the lightbulb, the automobile, the factory—almost every major global innovation? How is this the same United States that produced one warship a day during World War II? We were once the peak of civilization, but now we're a shell of our former selves.

Much of this decline is due to incompetence at the top. Years of bad leadership have created perverse incentives. Governments have become obsessed with expanding themselves, adding more regulations, and spending money foolishly. These warped priorities yield equally warped results, ultimately landing us in the mess we face today.

In the West, leaders aren't appointed—they're elected. With democracy, bad leaders shouldn't be a problem, right? The public votes them in, after all. But this assumes full civic participation, which is at an all-time low. Those who do vote tend to skew older and less diverse. Most people simply don't vote, and when they do, it's often based on "vibes" rather than substantive policy. Campaigns have shifted away from policy discussions toward viral moments. A few popular TikTok videos can make a candidate a frontrunner, while detailed policy proposals are largely ignored—or worse, can be political liabilities. This vibes-driven culture has filled offices with unserious candidates, leading to the failures we see today.

The problem goes even deeper. In most Western countries, the public doesn't even pick who appears on the ballot. Running for office has become a taboo. Why serve in government when you can make two or three times the salary at a tech company, with none of the risks? Public service used to be a prestigious duty, where the best minds would take time to help the nation before returning to private life. That doesn't happen anymore. Instead, government attracts the wrong kind of people—those more obsessed with optics than results.

Much of this stems from a toxic media environment. Every move a public official makes is scrutinized and broadcast. It's easier to toe the party line than to take a stand. Those who dare to be different often face death threats and harassment. Naturally, smart and capable people avoid such an environment. This has left us with two types of officials: career bureaucrats nearing retirement and opportunistic grifters. If this trend continues, figures like George Santos will dominate government, and things will worsen.

Yet, not all hope is lost. Initiatives like DOGE (Department of Government Excellence) are making public service attractive again, drawing bright minds to positions of responsibility. While this is a good start, much more is needed to return to a golden age. We need competent civil servants across the board. One solution is to raise pay for public servants and implement rigorous exams to ensure quality. Additionally, the culture needs to become less risk-averse and more results-oriented. Making it easier to remove underperforming officials would also help. This would weed out grifters and bad actors, leaving behind serious, capable individuals.

An informed citizenry is another critical piece of the puzzle. Achieving this is challenging, but social media could help democratize information and weaken the stranglehold of the mainstream press. Term limits for both elected officials and bureaucrats could also bring positive changes. Many problems arise from leaders being out of touch with everyday people—a problem term limits could mitigate. We need fewer 85-year-old senators and more 45-year-olds who understand the world as it is today.

It's time for citizens to take a stand. The West's decline is not inevitable, but it will take bold action to reverse course. Together, we can rise from this fall and reclaim our place as the peak of civilization.