Yet despite this, capitalism is entering a new era of crisis and uncertainty. Until a few decades ago, the labor movement at least forced capitalists to pay workers enough to buy the products of their labor. Now the old labor movement has been out flanked and all the peace treaties in the class war have expired; this has enabled a handful of magnates to amass the greatest fortunes in history, but it is eroding the consumer base that supports the entire operation in the first place. It also gives the rest of us less and less reason to play along. We can expect a new wave of conflicts in which the future of capitalism itself will come back into question.

We’re encouraged to compete against each other to improve our positions on an individual basis. But there’s not enough space at the top of the pyramid for all of us, no matter how hard we work—and no pyramid scheme can go on expanding forever. Sooner or later it’s bound to crash: recession and global warming are just the first warning signs. Instead of going down with the Pharaohs, let’s join forces to establish another way of life.