Isaac Asimov

A thinly populated world of the type I describe either grows moribund ans impoverished, falling off into an uncultured near-animal level - or it industrializes. It is standing on a narrow point and topples over in either direction and, as it just so happens, almost every world in the Galaxy has fallen over into industrialization. [...] But it can't continue forever. We're watching the results of the overtoppling now. The Empire cannot exist for much longer because it has - it has overheated. I can't think of any other expression.