the explanation I got a long time ago is that when something gets so bad that nothing you can do will change it is the time you sit back, crack a beer, and admit “no worries”
(Alberta and Texas are central plains / central prairies / “midwest” – calling Texas western is a bit of a misnomer, the US decided that anything west of the Mississippi is the “Great West”)
we can have civilization that isn’t self-destructive – instead of breaking apart into tribal groups, one factor that would have a bigger impact is to re-separate the direct connection we have between wealth and power