True? Probably, but it is a bit more complicated than that.

Take Nigeria as an example. It is probably one of the most conflictual states in the world, yet it is unlikely that it will die out in the foreseeable future. There is a significant amount of oil in the Christian south of Nigeria, but all of the political power is derived from the Muslim north. The South would LOVE to secede from the North, but the North has been stealing the South's oil revenue for long enough that their military is significantly more powerful, and they would never let their primary source of revenue slip away.

SO, despite mass corruption, wealth inequality, and poverty, Nigeria is relatively persistant. They have a significant amount of resources, and their economy is relatively likely to sustain itself until something drastic happens to their oil revenue.

So, maybe that's what you mean by the long run: when the oil runs out... but when the long run gets long enough, even the strong will die out.


I don't really understand Lestat's assertion that the US may be in trouble. It seems to me that the US is pretty 'fit' for the most part, certainly in comparison to most of the world.

I suppose the national debt is pretty awful, but aside from that, I see little justification for the prophecy.