The growing greed of the government caused the economic collapses of every empire known, regardless of how mighty or prosperous they were within the first few stages. The economic rise and fall of an empire can be broken down into seven stages. The first stage consists of the empire possessing a sound monetary system in which the currency is backed by gold or owns a reserve in the form of gold.
The second stage refers to the empire and how it progressively develops socially as well as economically.
The empire begins to gain momentum by taking on an excessive amount of economic burden in regards to public works. Examples of public works are roads, bridges, dams, irrigation structures and public buildings. The empire begins to take a more advanced form, however, at the price of more weight being added to its overall economic strain and sustainability. Two prime examples of the second of the seven stages are ancient Athens and the modern United States of America.
In ancient Athens, the empire spent a fortune on public works such as places of worship, statues, and roads. Even after the first part of the war in which there was a six-year truce with Sparta, Athens continuously allocated and spent a surplus of money on these great workings of art and architecture.
Over a six-year period before World War I began, the United States government spent over 286 billion dollars on public works. The funds were allocated to the networks of bridges, mass transit, and roads that belonged to the nation.
