Forces have invested several centuries trying to find a replacement for Western civilization with little to no success. What many have defined as "success" was either temporary or simply a corruption of the culture that did more damage than good.
From Plato, Hobbes and More to Marx, Orwell, Huxley and Rand, theories and hypotheses have been formed, presented, and predicted in both philosophy and literature.
Many theories have been tested. Some were inconclusive, but most have failed. Some only served to be a leech on the body of Western civilization, changing it in negative ways and serving as the "See, I told you capitalism was bad!" corruption so necessary to its enemies, even though the corruption is the problem, not the body.
But in reality, the warnings derived from the predictions were not, have not (and are not) heeded, even though the predictions prove true every time.
There has always been, and will always be, tension between the individual and the collective, both having needs, wants, and desires that are perpetually in conflict - as are the duties and responsibilities to and of each.
In reality, those conflicts have never been resolved, they have merely been delayed or temporarily submerged by implementation of either anarchy or authoritarianism.
Every system of humans living together exists somewhere on the continuum between total chaos and totalitarian order.
Sooner or later, you would think would realize that, even with its flaws, Western civilization and culture is the only way to balance individual liberty with the challenges of living together in a civilized society.
When reduced to the least common denominator, there are only two options: either we surrender freedom as a hedge against chaos or suffer some chaos in order to preserve freedom.
The former never ends well, always benefitting only the few at the top. The latter is almost always successful, and by successful, I mean in ways that benefit all.
Freedom must take precedence over fear of chaos.
This is the way.
As a lifetime supporter of Libertarian Principles (NORML was the first non-profit I ever supported), I have to express my anxiety regarding the future of capitalism and our republic. Imagine there is a very nice roast beef dinner on the table, a plate of potatoes, green beans, and even a frosted two-layer cake for dessert. But there are 333 million guests outside and 10 million that were not invited, all trying to break in and eat.
What would Viktor Frankl and Abraham Maslow do?
Sadly, the history of humanity is one of overpopulation, war, and disease. In the 21st century, there is a limited number of jobs that pay well enough to support a family and even the first generation of Christians would have been conflicted if they lived on Easter Island in 1700.
The desire to help one's neighbor is always trumped by the need to survive.
Even the Chinese lab-created virus paid for by the US government barely made a dent in the masses of needless and useless hungry mouths in the world.
It is inevitable that a period of chaos is about to engulf the world. Whether it results in a nuclear winter or simply worldwide starvation and tribalization, it will ultimately resolve itself in communities banding together against other communities. Maybe, once again, there will be freedom of speech and the freedom to worship as we want to. Or not.