Rousseau and Volney are two very different yet similar authors, who believe that humans cause corruption and destructions of an empire. Rousseau has an extremely negative outlook on the advancements of knowledge and science and technology; he believes that such advancements are not meant to be for every individual and is a superficial achievement. By trying to reach higher levels of knowledge, people lose their true identities and cannot obtain any happiness within themselves (Rousseau 91). Morals and ethical values are lost in society and people become more corrupted through intensive competition, leading to the fall of an empire. Volney contrasts with Rousseau in the sense that he believes ignorance is the main cause to the destruction of an empire rather than progression. In fact, Volney argues that collective progress is necessary to move a society forward and reach a better style of living; he advocates for individuals to be able to accept new information and have an open mind about different advancements (Volney 18).
Our current society is very superficial and many people base their actions upon the views of others or social norms, rather than what they truly believe and wish to pursue. Certain individuals choose to attend an university or continue in higher education due to the competitive atmosphere where higher education typically equivalents to better pay and more sustaining jobs. However, unlike Rousseau’s beliefs, I conceive the ambitions as a beneficial progress that can help the future of our current society. As more and more people decide to gain additional knowledge in better advanced institutions, new inventions or ideas may formulate and people become less ignorant towards different issues. As proven in history, progression in knowledge often led to progression in lifestyles and welfare of the society as a whole.When the United States first became introduced to railroads and trains in the 1800’s, it expedited the transportation process and allowed people to move from one area to another way faster than before. When the phone was invented, communication improved drastically and people were able to deliver messages more conveniently. As auto driving cars and robots are developing, the future of our society is progressing to help make everyone’s lives easier. The technological improvements are drastically advancing the lifestyles of the majority of the population.
Volney’s depiction of how ignorance hinders collective progression strongly applies to our society today. There are many controversial topics and people unwilling to change their mindsets and to accept new information. As shown in the political side of our society, a percentage of the population have very stubborn beliefs and are unwilling to alter their way of thinking even when there are clear evidence for certain subject areas. People choose to be ignorant and do not want to believe that they are wrong or open up to new ideas. Often times it is due to lack of research and inability to adapt to the progression of the society. For example, racism is a form of ignorance where people are stuck with the beliefs from the past and cannot move on, which ultimately hinders amelioration of society as a whole. Advancements and changes are occurring at a very slow rate because people are unable to agree on multiple issues. Gun laws, abortion rights, immigration control, etc are all very controversial and urgent issues that needs to be resolved but cannot be, since people are unable to come to a compromise or final decision. There is definitely still hope in our current society, even though it seems as not many things have been changed and improved. Upcoming generations are able to build upon developments from the past and learn from the mistakes to prevent our society from going into “ruins”.
(Picture) Ankarb. “Illustration: Mobile Phone World Communication.” Search Results, http://www.megapixl.com/mobile-phone-world-communication-illustration-27240112.
(Picture) Lopez. “Gun Control Controversy: How It’s Important to Our Country and How It’s Being Addressed.” The Belfast Beacon, belfastcs.org/1603/opinion/gun-control-controversy-how-its-important-to-our-country-and-how-its-being-addressed/.
Volney, C.-F, and John Mason. Volney’s Ruins of Empires. Haldeman-Julius Co., 1924.
Unraveling Past Ruins 
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