People thought that Rome would never fall. That the Soviet Union would never fall. That Great Britain would never fall..
Until they all did.
History is littered with famous empires and companies that have fallen over the years.
The reason… Empires started attacking themselves.
But why would they want to attack what they created? Why can’t they stay away from attacking themselves?
Because each person in the empire starts defending his own turf. His own idea. His position of power. His land.
This drive to defend is sneaky. It’s not one that people think about. In an ideal world, there are plentiful resources. Each person can have what they want and doesn’t need to think about storing or defending their own stuff. You can have your car, I can have my car and we would all be fine. Nothing would ever get stolen.
But here in the real world, once your friend steps onto your lawn, you put up the walls. You construct elaborate fences to keep your “friend” out. That’s the drive to defend at work.
It gets even more problematic when ideas are involved. My religion vs. your religion. My prize winning idea vs. your lame-brain get rich quick scheme. Then the claws really come out and people start fighting nasty. Even when you’re on the same team.
The only way to get out of this trap is: create a bigger pie for all. If you’re not expanding the pie, then you’re fighting over scraps.
No one eats the ends of the pizza anyway.
A New Source Code 