Why Elites Become Weird and Creepy About Sex In Declining Empires
(They are bored losers)
Feb 14, 2026
Empires in decline often demonstrate certain patterns before collapse. They produce worse art for example. Wealth disparity rises. They often experience widespread loss of institutional trust.
But another trend can be seen within sexual behaviour. As empires decline, research suggests that they also tend to reach heightened points of sexual obsession and decadence. While historians are not certain why this happens, many note that these trends are correlated to the rise of wealth and affluence amongst imperial elites.
We have recently discovered horrific things about our elites in the recent release of the Epstein files. But our empire is not the first in history that has declined under perverted elites. History indicates that the ultra-wealthy in empires tend to engage in sexual behaviours more shocking and extravagant than mere “sexual liberation”. The most famous example was the Roman Empire, in which multiple emperors were known for dramatically pushing boundaries in regards to sex, gender, and taboo sexual behaviours. Emperor Tiberius for instance allegedly raped and staged orgies with children on the island of Capri, while Caligula reportedly engaged in incest with his sisters and forced senators’ wives into brothels. Nero castrated and “married” a young boy who he forced to cross-dress to resemble his late wife, and he also staged public rapes and indulged in necrophilic acts. Increased sexuality amongst the ultra-wealthy can be noted in other empires as well, including the Hellenistic period in Greece and the Abbasid Caliphate of 10th century in Baghdad.
