BBC News – What happened to America’s community spirit?:
How to destroy a promising People.
Step 1: Create a government.
Step 2: Give government the power to tax income and to control people’s economic affairs.
Step 3: Let government print money, and control money supply and interest rates.
Step 4: Let government create a central bank and allow banks to create money.
Step 5: Wait a few centuries for economic and social collapse.
Rinse and repeat.