His case is just a matter of degree. Some men end up psychologically resolute in behaviour, personality and intellect but all the rest will flake out to some extent at some point in their lives. The essential character of one's own society is an effect of the general mental fitness of its inhabitants. If they're generally a bit childish, sheltered from discomforts and okay with dependency, you get our softbelly modern western societies, especially those across the Atlantic.