The hypothesis that aliens come and reset Earth every time humanity enters "late-stage capitalism" isn't a bad one for me. It also explains the ancient technological devices found in various excavations. When companies switch to microtransaction models, and all products and services become subscription-based, and the hardware you own is made obsolete with a software update, and the income of the richest 1% exceeds that of the poorest 50%, and all communist and socialist experiments fail, they just say "Ugh, not again!" and launch a rocket and leave.




