Western culture has undergone a value shift. Today's values are superficial in the extreme - we value money, personality[1], and social status. We "want respect"[2], and don't want to be "judged"[3].
Most of all, we crave others' approval.
The old values like integrity, honesty, empathy, conscientiouness and authenticity have been tossed aside.
This is not a new idea. In the year ~ 100 AD the Roman poet Juvenal wrote:
Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses
This attitude that "Everyone was great and hard working in the past, but now everyone's superficial" is common enough.
How'd that Roman Empire turn out for them, once they got their bread and circuses?
When claiming that this "fall of civilisation" talk is always around, I'm not sure drawing comparisons to the era leading to the fall of Rome is really bolstering your case. Quite the opposite.
For one thing, Juvenal was several centuries before the fall of Rome. The sack of Rome by the Goths was in 476. Second, this kind of rhetoric is more or less ubiquitous, just like the "the youth of today don't respect their elders" line.
Minor historical correction: The Goths sacked Rome in 410. 476 marks the date that Odoacer deposed the emperor Romulus Augustulus and didn't claim the throne or try to prop up a different emperor.
How'd that Roman Empire turn out for them, once they got their bread and circuses?
Pretty good. They were the major military power for a few hundred more years, and they had a massive influence on the language, cultural and law of the area for ~2,000 years.
Most of all, we crave others' approval.
The old values like integrity, honesty, empathy, conscientiouness and authenticity have been tossed aside.
This is not a new idea. In the year ~ 100 AD the Roman poet Juvenal wrote:
Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses
This attitude that "Everyone was great and hard working in the past, but now everyone's superficial" is common enough.