■ c. 2200 BCE – Old Kingdom Egypt
Monuments expanded even as famine deepened.

■ c. 1200 BCE – Late Bronze Age Collapse
Feasting and display rose while systems collapsed.

■ 5th c. BCE – Athens (Plague & War)
Plague and war fueled indulgence and ritual.

■ 9th–10th c. – Maya Lowland Collapse
Scarcity fed monument-building and elite feasts.

■ 14th c. – Black Death (Europe)
Luxury surged in the shadow of death.

■ 18th c. – French Fiscal Crisis
Extravagance peaked as bankruptcy approached.

■ 19th–early 20th c. – Late Qing Dynasty
Status goods and burials expanded amid unrest.

■ 1921–1923 – Weimar Hyperinflation
Currency collapse drove frantic spending.

■ Cold War (1947–1989)
Consumer booms and prestige projects thrived under nuclear threat.

■ 1999–2000 – Y2K
Fear of failure drove stockpiling and tech surges.

■ COVID-19 (2020–2022)
Hoarding essentials overlapped with luxury demand.

■ 2020s – Climate & AI Warnings
Global risks coincide with consumption spikes.