Far from collapse?

So it's been a while...but I'm back and better than ever. Taking another cue from current events my current focus has been on the economic woes of the United States. In my US history class we've been discussing the populist movement, the political movement of the "people" in response to the excesses of wealth in the late 19th century. The farmers were right! ..but they didn't win. The country could not survive without them, and even so they still fell victim to exploitation. Fast forward to the 1920s. The farmers problems had been addressed by presidents such as TR, Taft, and Wilson. Then came the backlash - no more government handouts! On to the Roaring 20s and a laissez faire approach to economic policy. Once again, the farmers were forgotten and this ultimately led to the crash in 1929. There have been some more scares over the years, but the government has since gotten involved in the economy like never before. Today government has been easing off...and what has been the result? Recession? Speculation? Greed? Well, greed is always there...but once again, there seems to be no "base" to support the massive upside down pyramid that is the distribution of wealth.

If you don't know what I'm talking about or what you're reading - fear not, I think I've gone off on some large tangential rant! But I think this relates somehow to the spread of Islam. Merchants. Trade. The middle class. Without this group there seems to be turmoil. The growth of Islam led the rise of Golden Ages. Wealth and prosperity. Rome collapsed without a middle class. As did the Han. (The French Revolution seems to be the anomaly...with the middle class actually causing the collapse of the French monarchy). Did Islam help develop a middle class for the world???

YOUR THOUGHTS???!!!