BUMP for a great article!
While I agree that we are entering the 4th Turning the idea that peak oil is the cause is not addressing the core issue. We have plenty of energy, there is an abundance of energy in the word, far more than we can use. This energy takes many forms, oil being one of them.
The core issues are personal responsibility and moral relativism. These basic issues are at the heart of most of our problems and until we come to grips with these ideas, attempts to solve our problems will be futile. The author makes the same mistake, blaming our problems on external events that we have limited control over.
The disintegration of the family has so many negative manifestations – crime, abuse, welfare, urban sprawl, unemployment, out of control government, etc (read Jack Cashill's What is Wrong with California). And the reason many families split is due to not taking responsibility for personal actions and the idea that what is right/wrong does not apply to me (made the baby, care for the baby).
Social conservatives have it right, the family must be strengthened, but this is not a popular idea nor is it a politically winning strategy. We need more producers and fewer consumers.
We are entering the 4th Turning. The last three 4th Turnings have been progressively more destructive and disruptive. This one is shaping up to be very nasty.
schu