The Collapse of Complex Business Models

"Tainter’s thesis is that when society’s elite members add one layer of bureaucracy or demand one tribute too many, they end up extracting all the value from their environment it is possible to extract and then some."

http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2010/04/the-collapse-of-complex-business-models/

See also: http://newteevee.com/2010/04/03/weekend-read-clay-shirky-on-why-big-tv-will-fail